SOUND THE

VOL 33, NO. 44 JULY 18, 2018 ALARMS www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com Supreme Court pick could ‘PURPLE’ REIGN dismantle LGBTQ rights The Color Purple returns to A SPECIAL GUEST ESSAY BY CAMILLA B. TAYLOR . Photo of Carla R. Stewart If courts retreat from protecting women’s equality and autonomy in making reproductive choices free and Adrianna Hicks by Matthew Murphy 15 of governmental interference, including with respect to abortion, then the rights of all LGBT people, which are deeply intertwined and share a common body of law, are necessarily diminished. Indeed, the landmark victories that guard the LGBT community’s right to marry and that decriminalized LGBT GRAND, peoples’ very existence, depend explicitly on precedents shielding reproductive autonomy. OPENING Steve Grand discusses See page 6 for the essay. his evolving world view, new CD. Photo by William Dick 20

COLLEGE TRY Derrick Gay Albion College alumni show the way Woods-Morrow to go. delights in disrupting Photo by Sonny Gast ARTIST 8 social constructs

STRIKE A PROVOCATEUR ‘POSE’ WCT talks with Mj Rodriguez, PAGE 10 from hit FX show. Photo of Mj Rodriguez and Ryan Jamaal Swain by JoJo Whilden/FX 21 Derrick Woods-Morrow. Photo by Daniel Delgado

@windycitytimes /windycitymediagroup @windycitytimes www.windycitymediagroup.com 322 MarchJuly 18, 7, 2018 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES

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NEWS MCA’s ‘Queer Narratives’; CVS incident 4 Camilla Taylor column 6 This Week’s Featured Properties Groceryland receives check 7 Centered on an open steel stairwell with Gay Albion College alumni help students 8 a shimmering three-story water feature ART: Derrick Woods-Morrow a proud provocateur 10 running against a subway slate backdrop, Travel map of LGBTQI (in)tolerance 12 the residence is reminiscent of a Parisian Viewpoint: Monroe 14 garden court with an abundance of natural light reflecting off an array of stones, metals, ENTERTAINMENT/EVENTS woods, and glass – all artfully integrated Theater feature: ‘The Color Purple’ 15 into every inch of its construction. 1457 W. Addison St. INDEX $2,249,000

With an enormous suburban-sized yard perfect for tented parties, pick-up soccer DOWNLOAD games, or a simple breakfast coffee, this THIS ISSUE grand estate comprising 5+ lots on one of the city’s most prized historic blocks proves AND BROWSE THE ARCHIVES AT Theater reviews 16 you can have it all in the city – right across www.WindyCityTimes.com from the park and lake. Driveway and 3+ car garage. Theater feature: ‘Everybody’ 18 530 W. Hawthorne Pl. Steve Grand’s world view on new CD 20 $3,795,000 SOUND THE TELEVISION: Mj Rodriguez of ‘Pose’ 21 NUNN ON ONE: Ezra Furman’s queer outlaw saga 22 Rock-star architectural transformation! A modern space with seamless VOL 33, NO. 44 JULY 18, 2018 ALARMS www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com Supreme Court pick could Theater feature: Hemingway in Pamplona 24 ‘PURPLE’ outdoor/indoor living which maximizes REIGN dismantle LGBTQ rights The Color Purple returns to A SPECIAL GUEST ESSAY BY CAMILLA B. TAYLOR NIGHTSPOTS 26 Chicago. Photo of Carla R. Stewart If courts retreat from protecting women’s equality and autonomy in making reproductive choices free and Adrianna Hicks by light, utility, and design. One-of-a-kind Matthew Murphy 15 of governmental interference, including with respect to abortion, then the rights of all LGBT people, which are deeply intertwined and share a common body of law, are necessarily diminished. Indeed, the landmark victories that guard the LGBT community’s right to marry and that decriminalized LGBT Calendar 30 GRAND, peoples’ very existence, depend explicitly on precedents shielding reproductive autonomy. OPENING special property. Amazing! Steve Grand discusses See page 6 for the essay. his evolving world view, new CD. Photo by William Dick 20

COLLEGE 820 W. Wolfram St. #F TRY Derrick Gay Albion College alumni show the way Woods-Morrow to go. delights in disrupting Photo by Sonny Gast ARTIST $795,000 8 social constructs

STRIKE A PROVOCATEUR ‘POSE’ WCT talks with Above: WCT reviews Blood at the Root. Mj Rodriguez, PAGE 10 from hit FX show. Photo of Mj Rodriguez and Ryan Jamaal Swain by JoJo Whilden/FX 21 Derrick Woods-Morrow. Photo by Daniel Delgado Photo from Jackalope Theatre Company @windycitytimes /windycitymediagroup @windycitytimes www.windycitymediagroup.com

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Lake Shore Dr. #7A $569,000 ‘PRINCESS’ PRIDE Windy City Times reviews productions The Csárdás Princess and Victims of Brad Lippitz Group Duty. bradlippitz.com THAT’S SHOW BIZ [email protected] Find out the latest about Aretha 773.404.1144 Franklin, Beth Ditto and the show Queer Eye. For over 20 years, Brad has been a proud member and supporter of the community; no Donterrio Johnson adds to the cast of the theatrical production Waitress. real estate broker in the city sells or gives back as Compass Real Estate is a licensed real estate broker with a principal office York,in New NY and abidesbut by isall subject applicable to errors, Equal omissions, Housing Opportunity changes in price, laws. condition, All material sale, orpresented withdrawal hereinherein without shallis intended notice. be construed for No statementinformational as legal, is made accounting aspurposes to the accuracy oronly. other ofInformation any description. professional is compiled advice All measurements outsidefrom sources the realm anddeemed square of real reliable estate footages brokerage. are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Nothing plus PR photo much to the community. DAILY BREAKING NEWS 4 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES MCA program reads into ‘Queer Narratives’ BY MELISSA WASSERMAN ing, social-justice intentions and ramifications of technology aimed toward the queer community, Technology and the queer community were the and the role that technology plays in collecting topics of conversation at the Museum of Contem- and communicating queer narratives. porary Art (MCA) Chicago’s “Queer Narratives with “For me, I think the most important thing I Zach Stafford and Jack Halberstam” program on brought to the conversation or try to bring to July 15. conversations like this is that Grindr has so much Stafford is the editor-in-chief of Grindr and history and cache and I have so many feelings its media outlet INTO, a digital LGBTQ magazine about it as an app and I do have a lot of feel- that launched in 2017. Previously, he was the ings about what I’m doing as a journalist, like: editor-at-large for OUT Magazine and an award- Why are you creating journalism within this app? winning journalist at The Guardian. Halberstam, What does it mean to export queer journalism? Is Ph.D., is a professor of gender studies and Eng- that problematic?” Stafford explained. “I think I lish at Columbia University, as well as the au- wanted to show people that we’re being thought- thor of six books, including Skin Shows: Gothic ful right now. Right now, we’re at this moment Horror and the Technology of Monsters (Duke UP, where there is so much happening that a lot of Jack Halberstam (left) and Zach Stafford. 1995), Female Masculinity (Duke UP, 1998), Gaga us started in these positions of power, whether Photo courtesy of MCA Chicago Feminism: Sex, Gender, and the End of Normal it’s at Columbia, an academic institution, or with (Beacon Press, 2012), and, most recently, Trans: a tech company, that we’re really thinking about and space—that works against and alongside they also ask amazing questions and questions A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability the past a lot and how we’re moving forward and heteronormative time and space and reflecting that you don’t always have the right answer to,” (University of California Press, 2018). They are we’re trying to be as good as we can be, though on that concept in today’s digital world; and the said Stafford, a DePaul University graduate. currently working on several new projects includ- we always make a lot of mistakes on the way and commercialization of queerness as well as the “I think it’s good that Chicago creates a space ing a book titled Wild Thing: Queer Theory After the purpose of it now is to talk about it and have promise of social justice within technology, spe- to reference Jack’s work as a failure and learning Nature. open conversation.” cifically platforms like Grindr. A Q&A portion was from failure and using that as a space to learn “Queer Narratives with Zach Stafford and Jack Stafford added that intersectional, queer con- conducted toward the end of the event. more and create more. I’ve always felt so com- Halberstam” was part of a set of programs in- versations are not just for or blogs. The “I thought they were both incredible,” said Par- fortable in Chicago, coming in, just being very spired by MCA’s exhibition “I Was Raised on the MCA, he said, has become a space for the whole kos Arnall of the speakers. “They bring a range unedited, existing and saying what I say because Internet,” running through Oct. 14. Together, city to come together to have these types of con- of perspectives within each of their work. They I learned it here, so I love that the MCA created Stafford and Halberstam dissected the role that versations. represented different generational perspectives, a space with someone I learned so much from, technology plays within the queer community. Within the prepared topics, the speakers were different fields of practice, and their chemistry to have a complicated, fun and sometimes tough “For me as a queer person, I’ve always wanted candid. Parkos Arnall detailed the conversation together, I thought, was really delightful.” conversation about what it means to be a queer to see things like this exist,” said Stafford of as taking on direction toward queer community “I think what I was really impressed with and person today.” the program and his participation. “They were and how it is built online and in real life; Hal- I knew Chicago would do this, is that Chicago For more information on MCA Chicago and its conversations in my brain and they weren’t hap- berstam’s sense of time and space—a queer time shows up for queer things, and it’s amazing, and programming, visit MCAChicago.org. pening. Now I see them happening. For me to be a part of them, is more than I ever would’ve “Morry Matson was not shaking and not hav- thought. I would’ve just been happy sitting in CVS racial incident ing tremors of any kind when he first started the crowd, so it’s very overwhelming sitting in Morry Matson. assisting me at the self-checkout register in the this seat.” involves local gay Photo courtesy store,” she said. “He also did not have any trem- “We integrate voices of all different people in of Matson ors when we moved over to a regular register Chicago,” said MCA Chicago Curator of Public Pro- GOP candidate BY MATT SIMONETTE for him to assist me with the sale. He had no grams January Parkos Arnall. “The nature of the tremors when he initially warned me of having internet in its first 30 years has been somewhat Pharmacy giant CVS has apologized to a Black called the police. The tremors began when he exclusive to a white male perspective and it was Chicago woman after an Edgewater manager—a called the police for what he said was the sec- really important to us with the programming of white, openly gay man who is also running for ond time—which is the 911 call I videotaped.” the exhibition, programming around the exhibi- 48th Ward alderman—phoned the police after State Rep. Juliana Stratton, D-Chicago, who tion, to include a diversity of experiences and she reportedly attempted to use a coupon he was at one point derailed when a referendum is also running to be the state’s next lieutenant voices.” didn’t recognize late on July 13. petition Matson organized was discovered to governor and is a childhood friend of Hudson’s, Parkos Arnall moderated the conversation be- Camilla Hudson posted a cellphone video to have a number of fraudulent signatures. weighed in on the matter on Twitter: “Yesterday tween Halberstam and Stafford, covering topics social media July 14 that showed a visibly trem- Chicago Sun-Times reported on the apology the police were called by a@cvspharmacy em- such as the history and current state of cruis- bling Morry Matson speaking on the phone with by Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS July ployee who assumed she had the wrong coupon. police after she attempted to purchase an item 14. Spokesperson Mike DeAngelis told the paper We cannot take lightly the calling of police on using a manufacturer’s coupon he alleged that that, “We sincerely apologize to Ms. Hudson for Black people carrying out normal, everyday ac- Corrections she’d forged. The video was deleted by her experience in one of our stores. Our Region tivities. It’s traumatizing and it’s wrong.” In the July 11 issue, the incorrect pro- at one point, but Hudson was able to repost it. Director in Chicago contacted Ms. Hudson as State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, added nouns were used for About Face Youth The- The CVS outlet in question is at 6150 N. soon as we were made aware of this incident. on Twitter: “Dear Mr. Matson: This isn’t how we atre writer/ensemble member Via Haman. Broadway. CVS has begun an investigation and we will take treat our neighbors in Edgewater. You’re an em- Haman’s actual pronouns are they/them/ Prior to announcing his aldermanic bid, Mat- any corrective action that is warranted to pre- barrassment. … Let this racist fool know the their. son said that he was heading up an effort to vent it from happening again.” people of the 48th Ward deserve better.” Also, in the article on the event “Black Girl revitalize the local branch of the Log Cabin Re- Hudson noted on Facebook that Matson’s Chicago Sun-Times’ article is at https://bit. Magic,” Eva Styles was incorrectly identified. publicans. He has long been active in an effort trembling, visible on her video, only started ly/2LmJTcx. Windy City Times sincerely apologizes for to further extend the Lakefront Path; that effort when he phoned 911 a second time. the errors. WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 5

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TAYLOR concerning these questions are likely to reach the it is upon a body of law protecting reproductive Court in the not-too-distant future. autonomy and bodily integrity, similarly protects The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for the Su- But what should be most worrying for members a transgender person’s right to live consistently preme Court should alarm every member of the of the LGBT community is Judge Kavanaugh’s with their gender identity, requiring issuance LGBT community. His record demonstrates that views on abortion. He dissented from a decision of accurate identity documents to transgender if he is confirmed to the seat recently vacated of the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals allowing applicants, and respect for transgender service an undocumented 17-year-old girl in detention members’ right to serve in the military as the men by Justice Kennedy, who often played the role of Camilla Taylor. swing justice and authored the most significant to obtain an abortion, and in various writings has and women they are. To chip away at the body of landmark rulings over the past 20 years vindicat- expressed hostility to Roe v. Wade, the founda- law protecting women’s reproductive autonomy ing the rights and equal dignity of lesbian, bisex- tional abortion-rights decision. If courts retreat would be to chip away at the precedents protect- ual and gay people, Judge Kavanaugh will threat- from protecting women’s equality and autonomy ing LGBT peoples’ equal dignity, moral agency, have direct relevance to LGBT people, but it bears en every advance this community has made, and in making reproductive choices free of govern- and ability to participate in public life. noting that a vast range of civil liberties organi- set back our progress by decades. zations have voiced opposition to his nomina- Lambda Legal’s Fair Courts Project has compre- tion for additional reasons—because his record hensively reviewed his record and identified many also betrays hostility to voting rights, affirma- ways in which Judge Kavanaugh’s extremist views “Recently, lower courts have recognized that tive action, workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights, endanger LGBT people. First, he believes presi- consumer protections, and other protections for dents should enjoy almost unfettered authority, the due process guarantee, built as it is upon a vulnerable communities. The LGBT community in which is particularly worrying at a time when the all of its proud diversity has a stake in all of these Trump administration has targeted LGBT people in body of law protecting reproductive autonomy issues, too. its cross-hairs. Our community relies upon courts In short, Judge Kavanaugh’s record suggests to provide a check on presidential power. To name and bodily integrity, similarly protects a trans- disdain for anyone who requires court interven- just one example, President Trump last summer tion for protection against governmental dis- tweeted out a ban on transgender military service gender person’s right to live consistently with crimination and excess, and that should worry all members. In multiple lawsuits challenging this of us. Now is the time to speak up against Judge ban, the Trump administration now argues that their gender identity.” Kavanaugh’s nomination. Decades of progress for courts must defer broadly to the president and the LGBT community are in danger of being rolled his discretion on military matters. The adminis- back. Please call your senators and ask them to tration further claims that the service members mental interference, including with respect to Additionally, reproductive autonomy matters vote against this nomination. challenging the policy have no right even to seek abortion, then the rights of all LGBT people, to LGBT people for more practical reasons. Many Camilla B. Taylor is the Director of Constitu- access to documents likely to show that the ban which are deeply intertwined and share a com- members of the community need access to such tional Litigation for Lambda Legal, the oldest was tweeted out on impulse, reflecting little to mon body of law, are necessarily diminished. health care for themselves. Women often take and largest national legal organization com- no deliberation or rational decision-making what- Indeed, the landmark victories that guard the contraceptives for medical reasons unrelated to mitted to achieving full recognition of the soever. Judge Kavanaugh’s views on presidential LGBT community’s right to marry and that de- preventing pregnancy, such as to treat endome- civil rights of all lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, power suggest that he may agree that courts may criminalized LGBT peoples’ very existence, de- triosis or reduce the risk for ovarian and uterine transgender people and people with HIV. She not meaningfully review such executive actions, pend explicitly on precedents shielding reproduc- cancers. Indeed, at least one study suggests that spearheads Lambda Legal’s litigation chal- regardless of how animus-driven and discrimina- tive autonomy. Thus, Lawrence v. Texas, which more than 50 percent of lesbian women have lenging the Trump/Pence administration’s as- tory they may be. struck down laws criminalizing intimacy between used oral contraceptives at some point in their sault on LGBT rights. Second, Judge Kavanaugh sided with religious people of the same sex, and Obergefell v. Hodges, lives. Of course, lesbians and bisexual women Most recently, Taylor has worked on Karnoski employers objecting to the federal government which upheld the fundamental right to marry for may seek contraceptives or abortion care after v. Trump, challenging the constitutionality of providing their employees with contraceptive same-sex couples, expressly relied upon prior having consensual sex with men as well. Trans- the Trump administration’s ban on military coverage pursuant to the Affordable Care Act due process cases protecting women’s access gender men need abortion care and contracep- service by transgender people; and Marouf v. (“ACA”). Judge Kavanaugh’s view that the ACA to contraception, such as Griswold v. Connecti- tives, too. Abortion and contraceptives are sim- Azar, a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of burdened these employers’ religious beliefs sim- cut and Eisenstadt v. Baird. The Supreme Court ply vital health care needs regardless of sexual Health and Human Services (HHS) on behalf ply by requiring them to notify the government recognized that, just like procreative decision- orientation or gender identity. Lesbians, bisexu- of a lesbian couple denied an opportunity to of their objection to contraception suggests that making, the right to choose whom to love and als, and transgender men already face unique bar- apply to foster a refugee child in a federal pro- Judge Kavanaugh also may: 1) side with religious to marry and how to structure one’s family can riers to care that would be compounded by the gram exclusively funded by HHS and adminis- health care providers that take federal taxpayer be self-defining, and central to a person’s dignity imposition of additional restrictions on reproduc- tered by a faith-based agency on the ground funds but refuse to treat LGBT people; 2) rule and identity. Recently, lower courts have recog- tive healthcare. that the couple does “not mirror the Holy Fam- in favor of discriminatory child welfare providers nized that the due process guarantee, built as These aspects of Judge Kavanaugh’s record ily.” that take taxpayer funds but refuse to respect the sexual orientation and gender identity of foster youth in their care, or that refuse to license LGBT The online version of this article has extensive informational links. Here are a few key ones: people as foster parents, citing religious objec- — https://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/20180709_brett-kavanaugh-record tions; and 3) favor discriminatory businesses that — https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-dc-circuit/1714435.html justify withholding service to serve LGBT people — https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/C81A5EDEADAE82F2852581C30068AF6E/$file/17-5236-1701167.pdf in the marketplace on religious grounds. Cases — https://civilrights.org/trump-supreme-court-pick-unfit-to-serve/ WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 7 the nation’s only network that provides grocery City Times at a July 10 event at Groceryland, Dee praised Cannon and the volunteers for their Open Hand receives services toward people who are battling against 5543 N. Broadway, that involved an announce- hard work in the community. HIV/AIDS. ment of a grant from Fifth Third Bank. “We were Osterman commended Cannon on her work and grant from The program first started as “Meals on Wheels” delivering food on the street and we would clutch told everyone, “When you think of 18 million Fifth Third Bank and individuals like Lori Cannon—an advocate for their hand, no one would even touch them.” meals, you think it’s love. You think of the food BY ASHLEY COLLINS the LGBTQ community who is the Open Hand’s co- As for the July 10 event, a grant totaling that was donated, the food that was delivered, founder—saw an opportunity to break through $6,500 will go toward the food pantry’s services the food that was prepared for people that need This year, Open Hand/Heartland Alliance is cel- and protect those dying from HIV/AIDS. and supplies. it most—that’s that labor of love from Lori.” ebrating its 30th year of service to the LGBTQ “The 30th anniversary... When you think about Along with Fifth Third Bank’s Andrew Hayes For more information on Open Hand/Heart- community in providing assistance in housing, 18 million meals, it’s jarring, stirring, bitter- and his mother, 48th Ward Alderman Harry Oster- land Alliance, visit HeartlandHealthOutreach. healthcare, jobs and more. The organization is sweet—but we’re proud at what the volunteers man and former local television journalist Merri org. and I were able to offer,” Cannon said to Windy a drop from 385 officers in May. Tunney urges action Staffing levels in the 19th District have long been a concern of Tunney’s constituents, espe- over police cially for the month of June, when the area hosts staffing numbers the Pride Parade and a number of other Pride- BY MATT SIMONETTE related activities. Overcrowding and a number of incidents following this year’s parade reportedly In correspondence with constituents released led to bars either voluntarily closing early, or be- July 13, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th Ward) urged con- ing ordered to do so by CPD. stituents to contact the Mayor’s Office or the of- Tunney had earlier been assured by City offi- fice of Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson over cials that there’d be a minimum of 375 police of- what he said were frustrating levels of police ficers on staff in the district; that came following staffing in the Town Hall 19th Police District. a 30 percent cut in the number of officers. “I am deeply disappointed and frustrated with “Yesterday, the Superintendent expressed his these numbers and will be speaking with Mayor disappointment in current staffing and remains Emanuel about this failing commitment,” Tunney committed to getting and keeping police officers said. in the 19th District,” Tunney added July 13. According to numbers Tunney cited, provided The alderman urged his constituents to contact to him by District Commander Marc Buslick, there officials regarding the matter: Mayor Rahm Eman- were 13 fewer officers on staff in the district in uel’s office at 312-744-3300 or arahm.emanuel@ cityofchicago.org; and Johnson’s office at 312- From left: Lori Cannon, Harry Osterman, Merri Dee, Andrew Hayes and Hayes’ mother, Anita Butler. June 2018 than there was the month before. That 745-6100 or [email protected]. Photo by Ashley Collins month, there were a total of 372 officers on staff, 8 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES Gay Albion College alumni on new project, other endeavors BY CARRIE MAXWELL path, the college also gives them the tools to become citizens who are involved in their com- Over the past few years, Chicago-based Albion munity.” College alumni Austin Baidas and Larry Schook Baidas said their goal is to finance 50 students have been working on a project to send academi- a year over the four years of college, adding that cally qualified/financially challenged students fundraising is their primary focus because the from Chicago to their small liberal arts college, gap right now is about $10,000 per student per located in Michigan. year. Baidas and Schook want the program to be Since Albion has small class sizes and profes- fiscally sustainable for many years. sors who are committed to becoming student’s “Albion College has long been committed to mentors as well as a tight-knit campus, Baidas students from Chicago and giving them the tools said this means students do not fall through the of a Liberal Arts education to change their lives, cracks and leave. Baidas explained that, in the their neighborhoods and the city,” said Schook. past 30 years, 73 percent of Albion graduates “Austin’s work, as a proud Albion College alum, from Chicago return to the city to being their has been key to connecting Albion with the Chi- From left: Program graduate Jordan Newson alongside Austin Baidas and Larry Schook at Chicago adult lives. He sees their project as an opportu- cago community, raising money and building White Sox Albion College alumni event. nity to positively affect many neighborhoods, not bridges with the alumni network. He is an exem- Photo by Sonny Gast just the ones where families can afford to send plar of the Albion College tradition.” their kids to college. One of the many students the project helps is graduate from college which will start the trend first generation college students after graduation “There are neighborhoods in Chicago that have Albion College LGBriTs Co-President Raylan Grace, of other family members dreaming of a college make only 66 percent of what their more affluent problems with violence, lack of economic oppor- who identifies as pansexual. education. I am so grateful to be a part of Aus- peers do. My fellow alums can help close the gap tunity and other issues,” said Baidas. “I believe “I chose Albion because I wanted to be my own tin’s program. I can always ask him for help when for these talented students. I am excited to see if we are going to solve these issues we have to independent person and the distance from Chi- I am concerned about my college experience.” them succeed in their careers and make a dif- give smart people in these neighborhoods a way cago gives me more of an opportunity to make “I have also been helping connect students ference in their neighborhoods and the city as forward and that includes a college education. new life choices,” said Grace. “Being successful into the Chicago alumni network for internships a whole.” Albion not only trains people to follow a career at Albion means I will be the first in my family to and career opportunities,” said Baidas. “Many Turn to page 9 STORIES OF SURVIVAL IS A PROJECT OF THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM & EDUCATION CENTER AND PHOTOGRAPHER JIM LOMMASSON. JIM PHOTOGRAPHER AND CENTER & EDUCATION MUSEUM HOLOCAUST ILLINOIS THE OF A PROJECT IS SURVIVAL OF STORIES

Discover how a one-eyed teddy bear and other ordinary objects tell extraordinary stories. Special Exhibit Jul 19, 2018 – Jan 13, 2019 ilholocaustmuseum.org WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 9 Another way Baidas gives back to his college where he was the senior advisor to the adminis- is as a visiting scholar. He has done this three trator in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s times over the past year by speaking with stu- Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Adminis- dents either individually or in classes about his tration. In this role he “developed the Agency’s experiences in business, finance, government, business plan that tied directly to the agency’s non-profits and politics. budget and operations goals.” YOUR PERFECT DAY “I try to bring the real world to campus with For the past 12 years, Baidas has also been a these talks,” said Baidas. partner at Creekside Communities which acquires, Baidas grew up in the Detroit suburbs and finances and manages 11 manufactured home spent time working at his family’s RV dealership communities in Michigan, Ohio and Texas. as a teenager after school and on Saturdays. The Baidas was also a senior executive fellow at most important message his father imparted on Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government him, that his grandfather also imparted on his in 2004. father, is to get a college education. When Baidas “This was an executive education program that was searching for a college to attend he discov- condensed the highlights of a master’s of public ered Albion and its Gerstacker Institute for Pro- administration degree into a very intense, six- fessional Management. He chose Albion for the day-a-week, monthlong program,” said Baidas. Gerstacker program and its small class sizes, and “At the time, I was the youngest student in the graduated in 1992 with a BA in economics and class joining approximate 50 senior executives management. Baidas said working in his family’s primarily from the federal government.” RV store stoked his interest in business and that Baidas explained that in addition to giving is why he chose those college majors. back to his college, he is a Howard Brown Health In addition to his interest in business, Baidas board member and serves on the finance and de- has always had a passion for public policy and velopment committees. He previously served on politics. This manifested itself most acutely dur- the board at the Center on Halsted and was part ing the 2008 economic crash. of the team that made the Town Hall LGBT Senior “I believe that bad public policy caused the Apartments happen. economic crash of 2008 and the great recession “Because Albion College and Howard Brown of 2009,” said Baidas. “Seeing the job losses, fi- Health directly benefit Chicago, I felt in a nancial distress and uncertainty that my friends Trumpian world I also needed to do something and neighbors went through during this time cre- internationally focused which would make a dif- ated a passion in me to get involve to prevent ference so I joined the Chicago Committee of Hu- another man-made disaster like this in the fu- man Rights Watch,” said Baidas. “In April, I made ture.” a trip to Washington D.C. to meet with members This led to Baidas’ involvement with then- of Congress on human rights issues, and in June, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration to turn I attended the Human Rights Watch Summit to around state government. He served as the as- hear from researchers around the world about sociate budget director and assistant director of what issues they are working on to bring about the Department of Central Management Services transparency and policy changes.” for four years. When Baidas is not working or doing non-profit “During my tenure, my colleagues and I were volunteering, he spends as much time as he can able to save taxpayers money by closing prisons, with his five nephews and one niece (ages 8 to consolidating space to eliminate leases and re- 15), plays CMSA flag football, and campaigns ducing the cost of retiree healthcare without cut- for state political candidates J.B. Pritzker and ting benefits,” said Baidas. Kwame Raoul. He will also be participating in Baidas moved on to the Obama administration, TPAN’s Chicago Ride for AIDS this fall. IT STARTS HERE

federal judge and that he delved into Schock’s Trial date set in sexuality. Where Magnificent Mile elegance meets the The NBC item is at https://www.nbcchicago. grandeur of Chicago’s architectural glory, Aaron Schock case com/blogs/ward-room/aaron-schock-corrup- LondonHouse Chicago offers couples one of the U.S. District Judge Colin Bruce has set the tion-case-set-to-begin-in-january-488199221. city’s most unforgettable wedding venues. corruption trial for former U.S. Rep. Aaron html. The Politico article is at https://www. Schock (R-Illinois) for Jan. 28, 2019, NBC 5 politico.com/story/2018/06/26/aaron-schock- Chicago reported. Schock resigned from office prosecutor-timothy-bass-678718. From our iconic rooftop and Cupola, to the in 2015, and was charged with misappropria- stunning Juliet Grand Ballroom with its incredible tion of funds. In a conference call with the case’s attor- views of the Chicago River and city skyline, Elder-care support ® neys, Bruce provided an August-to-October LondonHouse Chicago offers you an array of pretrial schedule that involves motions and call on July 19 show-stopping settings for your special day. related arguments. An elder-care support call will take place Bruce denied Schock’s request to stay pro- Thursday, July 19, 2-2:45 p.m. CT. The dial-in ceedings while his attorneys appeal a 7th Cir- call number is 515-739-1030 and the access cuit Court of Appeals decision. code is 784-468-702. Politico recently reported that Timothy The Japanese American Service Committee is Bass—the federal prosecutor who has led the facilitating this support group, and aims to investigation into Schock for more than three be culturally inclusive for people of color and 85 EAST WACKER DRIVE AT NORTH MICHIGAN AVENUE years—is officially off the criminal corruption LGBTQI communities. 312 357 1200 | LONDONHOUSECHICAGO.COM case. No official reason was given, although For more information, contact Liz Thomson Bass dealt with allegations that he misled a at [email protected]. 10 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES to say. I just like the fact that he’s stirring things up. He’s doing a deviant thing. It makes no sense Derrick Woods-Morrow. for a Black man to say some of the things he Photo by Daniel Delgado says.” The artist is certainly more than this thoughts, though. The 28-year-old Brown Summit, North Carolina, native aims to “practice navigates and negotiates sexual identity by fragmenting no- tions of representation, exploring personhood and memories, and reimagining ways to under- stand power dynamics as they pertain to consent and self preservation,” according to his bio for Windy City Times’ 30 Under 30 Awards. (He was an honoree this year.) Accomplishments include being an alum of the Fire Island Artist Residency 2016, a current Chicago Artists coalition 2017- 2018 bolt resident, and being an adjunct assis- tant professor of photography and teaching artist at the University of Illinois-Chicago. And this is an intriguing time to be an artist— especially given today’s often-turbulent political climate. When asked how politics inform his art, Woods-Morrow said, “I believe everything is po- litical; anything can be made political. So maybe history informs the work, and I’m actually more invested in trying to make future spaces—and I’m doing that by trying to connect historical ob- jects to ideas I had oftentimes as a child to try- ing to bring them to a space where I can … play. ART “With my body being a mega-6’4”, 280-pound Black body not being allowed to play—but there’s something innately queer about play, or Derrick Woods-Morrow: deviance. There’s always a little deviance in the work.” And this is true, whether it’s about one of his A provocateur and disruptor, by design works showing him imitating the cover of the Grace Jones album Island Life (“It’s my body be- BY ANDREW DAVIS observation. That Woods-Morrow initially comes on rapper Kanye West’s controversial statement, ing between masculine and feminine,” according across as shy doesn’t mean he doesn’t harbor lots “When you hear about slavery for 400 years ... For to Woods-Morrow) or another piece of art involv- Talking with queer artist Derrick Woods-Morrow is of provocative thoughts—and the conversation 400 years? That sounds like a choice.” ing a rainbow arrangement of bricks. an exercise in exploring boundaries. he recently had with Windy City Times immedi- Woods-Morrow told Windy City Times, “It’s not “The bricks were given to me (and I won’t say This is, by no means, a criticism—it’s simply an ately took off when he expressed his thoughts even that I necessarily support what Kanye has

Details from some of the work of Derrick Woods-Morrow. This piece at right is a take on Grace Jones’ Island Life. Photos by Andrew Davis WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 11 how, but these bricks are from where there was Macon College in Virginia). “Oh, yes—Southern a lot of Black gay cruising in the ‘70s, ‘80s and family, Southern food—mac ’n’ cheese, sweet ‘90s), but the sand is stolen from Fire Island— tea, yams. … And, of course, I love Black people; so I was trafficking sand. In a way, it’s about I grew up with Black people.” He’s also tradition- who owns and who can reclaim land. For years, al in the sense that he likes to build or maintain white bodies have been trafficking sand and bonds with other people: “I like to build rela- eroding those beaches. For years, Black bodies tionships with people from my past, like a [man] weren’t even allowed on that island so, when I named Adam who I had sexual experiences with steal sand, I’m asking, ‘Can I have my sand? Is it when I was younger. [Note: They were both boys anyone’s sand?’ So, now, the U.S. Postal Service at the time.] I like to connect and reconnect with has blacklisted me from sending sand through all sorts of bodies.” Now, Adam is a police officer the mail.” who’s posed for some of Woods-Morrow’s works. “There’s another work where I basically pros- Then, the artist talked about turning some tituted for Polaroids. If I had a connection, we societal mores on their heads, through art. “I worked out an arrangement where I had access to worship Black bodies. My impetus, though, is to their cellphones. All of these works exhibit some make white bodies perform for me in the work. I type of deviant action or quality.” have an extreme interest in having Black bodies When asked if he sees himself as a disrup- at rest and not having to work all the time. Be- tor, the response is decisive: “Yes, I do—and ing Black seems to mean you have to labor—it’s I don’t even have to be loud to be disruptive. all about labor. And, even now, I struggle with I can disrupt and control in ways people don’t positioning Black bodies in my works, because I see. When I enter a space, I see what goes on sometimes feel they become spectacle for white around me and I’m very aware of my position. audiences. I’m constantly worry about Black bod- I’m disrupting because people will see me and ies being at rest and not having to worry. These don’t understand how I can act the way I do. are things I think about. It’s about my love for ‘How does he have the audacity to do that?’ I Black people and Black identity.” think our bodies tend to disrupt things—espe- And, like any artist, Woods-Morrow sees his art cially Black, trans, queer and GNC bodies. And I evolving. “The art is evolving now,” he said. “I welcome disruption; it brings discomfort, which wasn’t making some of these items a year ago. I brings about knowledge—it’s revolutionary.” For think about how I can push objects into different Woods-Morrow, enlightenment is key—no matter media and see where I go.” who learns something. Not surprisingly, sexuality is another element As for said enlightenment, Woods-Morrow said of his life that Woods-Morrow happily sees as go- he believes that anyone can learn from anyone ing against the grain. “At one time, I identified else. However, he added, “I have lots of unpopu- as straight or bi,” he said. “Now, I identify as a lar opinions, like it’s easier to learn from people queer man who has an openness with everyone, who are inside your ethnic group. But I also think but who predominantly sleeps with men. I am at- that opinions from the far right teach me a lot, tracted to lots of different types of people—lots including how I want to be seen.” of genders and sexualities. I like that a thin top With Woods-Morrow being such a fan of disrup- can come my way. Maybe I’m interested in the tion, it led this writer to wonder if there are as- destabilization of my large Black body because I pects of traditions he embraces—which propelled think I’m supposed to have a role where people the artist to talk about growing up in the South see me one way.” Derrick Woods-Morrow’s “Interloper.” (and the revelation that he and this writer went And those are the proud words of a disruptor. Photo by Andrew Davis to, respectively, Randolph College and Randolph-

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ilholocaustmuseum.org 12 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES The color code is as follows: YELLOW: Have legalized homosexu- BLUE: Have legalized homosexual- RED: Homosexuality is illegal. The ality, but there is no other protection ity and have a wide range, but not all, Travel map shows death penalty may apply. for the LGBTQI community, and there protections in place. ORANGE: In these countries homo- is often open hostility from the major- PURPLE: Countries that have legal- sexuality is legal, but by default. They ity of the population. ized and codified same-sex marriage LGBTQI (in)tolerance have never enacted legislation specifi- GREEN: Have legalized homosexual and offer (generally) a full suite of cally outlawing it. Its perhaps more acts, but have a very limited number protection of rights. accurate to describe the legal situa- of other protections against discrimi- worldwide tion as “not officially illegal.” nation. Global travel insurance provider WorldNomads.com has released a map of (in)tolerance—revealing which countries are potentially dangerous for LGBTQI travelers because of legal status and societal attitudes. The company has said it is impor- tant LGBTQI travelers make conscious and informed decisions about the places they choose to travel. WorldNomads.com says 72 countries and territories worldwide criminalize same-sex relationships, including 45 in which sexual relationships between women are outlawed. In eight of those countries, ho- mosexuality can result in the death penalty, and there are dozens more in which same-sex acts can result in a prison sentence. There is a spectrum when it comes to legal recognition and the provision of protection through anti-discrimina- tion laws, and this color-coded map (attached) is designed to help LGBTQI travelers make informed decisions about where they go. WorldNomads.com has attempted to integrate legal staus with attitudes from the general public. For example, Russia, where homosexuality is legal, is colored yellow because of open hos- tility and the prevalence of violence toward LGBTQI people.

Activism meet-ups, personal book recommendations, weekly events, Kids Storytime, and more! There are so many reasons to support Chicago’s only feminist bookstore. WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 13 Rule could force choice between federal funds, anti-LGBT discrimination BY MATT SIMONETTE such discrimination in place, about $94 million dollars in funding would be at stake, said James Grave financial and moral choices await Illinois McIntyre of Foster Care Alumni of America’s Illi- authorities if the U.S. House of Representatives nois chapter, who added that the primary impedi- passes a budget amendment penalizing states ment to quality foster care is not religious-based prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination in their discrimination, but, rather, “not enough provid- adoption and foster care system, say stakehold- ers of loving homes.” ers. State representatives from both sides of the A group composed of elected officials, service aisle voiced their opposition to the amendment; providers and advocates, among others, called state Rep. Steve Andersson (R-Geneva) decried on the Illinois’ Congressional delegation to uni- the use of “religious-held beliefs” as the rationale formly reject the proposed Aderholt Amendment, for the rule, adding, “This is not the sort of issue From left: Kyle Hillman, Amanda McMillen, Charles Golbert, James McIntyre, Steve Andersson and which was attached as a budget rider on a bill we should be revisiting.” Kelly Cassidy. funding the Departments of Health, Labor and State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) called on Photo by Matt Simonette Education, at a July 16 press conference at the Gov. Bruce Rauner to voice an objection to the UCAN offices in Homan Square. amendment and said, “It is time to put this non- while the state does indeed have numerous flaws the members of the state’s Congressional delega- The amendment—which, according to its au- sense aside and move forward.” in its child welfare system, the state’s anti-dis- tion—especially Republicans—to reiterate the thors, supposedly “prohibits discrimination After the amendment passed a committee vote crimination protections are not contributing to implications of the bill. against a child welfare service provider based on on July 11, Aderholt released a statement lauding those problems. Colleen Connell, executive direc- “We have to tell them not to vote ‘yes’ just be- the provider’s religious or moral beliefs”—allows its passage, asserting that the legislation would tor of ACLU of Illinois, vehemently disputed the cause it is a budget bill,” he added. the federal government to withhold up to 15 per- both increase placements in loving homes and assertion about the opioid epidemic, saying the There are about 7,000 children in foster care cent of funding for child welfare programs if a help families who had been negatively affected new rule would make it that much for difficult for in Cook County, according to Cook County Acting state does not permit an agency to refuse to work by the opioid crises. children adversely impacted by the epidemic to Public Guardian Charles Golbert, who also spoke with LGBT families. U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R- Both rationales were dismissed at the July 16 find stable homes; she further called Aderholt’s July 16. Kyle Hillman of National Association of AL) proposed the rule. conference. Amanda McMillen, chief program of- idea “absurd.” Social Workers’ Illinois chapter also gave remarks. Since Illinois has strong protections against ficer of Illinois Collaboration on Youth, said that, McIntyre said the next step was reaching out to 14 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES viewpoints

belief in an afterlife was passed on to my ancestors as an intentionally Christian theological concept as a form of social control to maintain the status Rev. Irene quo of perpetual servitude. The indoctrination of an MONROE overjoyed and jubilant afterlife wasn’t to make them better Christians but instead obedient, subservient and God-fearing slaves. Concerns about the For African-American slaves, however, the belief in an afterlife was a coded critique of an unfulfilled VOL. 33, No. 44, July 18, 2018 afterlife in this The combined forces of Windy City Times, life denying them of life, liberty and the pursuit of founded Sept. 1985, and Outlines newspaper, life with Trump happiness in this life. The belief in an afterlife func- founded May 1987. tioned as an eschatological hope and aspiration that A pall hangs over many Americans since Trump has their future progenies would indeed have a fulfilled PUBLISHER & EXECUTIVE EDITOR taken office. life that they could only purportedly experience in Tracy Baim One sign of this dark cloud has been an uptick in death. People—across the country as well as the world— ASSISTANT PUBLISHER Terri Klinsky dystopian novels. Classics like George Orwell’s 1984, MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Davis Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Sinclair Lewis’ It have taken to the streets in protest. Social justice ASSOCIATE EDITOR Matt Simonette Can’t Happen Here, and my favorite, Margaret At- and pro-democracy organizations are now employing BUSINESS MANAGER Ripley Caine intersectional approaches to stem the deleterious DIRECTOR OF NEW MEDIA Jean Albright wood’s The Handmaid’s Tale—a drama web television ART DIRECTOR Kirk Williamson hit on Hulu are now all horrifyingly prescient. Our and regressive laws of this administration. SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Terri Klinsky, And it brings to the fore the now urgent need to devouring of these tomes is a search for answers to GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders) Kirk Williamson, Amy Matheny, Scott Duff, Kathy speak up like Rev. Martin Niemoller, a Protestant Breit, Theresa Santos Volpe, Kevin Siarkowski a potentially frightening new normal. Janson Wu spoke out against the normalization pastor who was an outspoken public foe of Adolf NATIONAL SALES Rivendell Media, 212-242- For example, Kellyanne Conway’s use of the Or- of hate, the Rev. Irene Monroe stated. 6863 Hitler. Many know his world-renowned quote: “First wellian phrase “alternative facts” to corroborate Photo courtesy of GLAD, and by Susan SENIOR WRITERS Bob Roehr, Tony Peregrin, they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak Lisa Keen, Yasmin Nair with then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s Symonds, InfinityPortraitDesign.com out—because I was not a Socialist…” THEATER COORDINATOR Catey Sullivan fallacious claims about Trump’s crowd size at his SPORTS WRITER Ross Forman inauguration signaled to people that facts and the of queries about the afterlife. Janson Wu, executive director of GLBTQ Legal ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT WRITERS truth are inconsequential in this administration. Examples: “I want to ask you, what do you believe Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), wrote a remake of Mary Shen Barnidge, Lawrence Ferber, Jerry Just as there has been an uptick in these dysto- will happen in the afterlife? Are we as the human Niemoller’s famous verse in his article “Resistance Nunn, Jonathan Abarbanel, Scott C. Morgan, and Solidarity in the Era Trump,” which is in Boston Lauren Emily Whalen, Karen Topham, Brian Kirst pian classics, there has also been a steady stream race going to be okay? Should I worry about what’s COLUMNISTS/WRITERS: Yvonne Zipter, of queries about the afterlife. The afterlife refers to going to happen to me after death? My girlfriend, Pride Guide 2017. In speaking out against the nor- Jorjet Harper, Charlsie Dewey, Carrie Maxwell, an individual’s soul or spirit living beyond the life who believes in God, but struggles with what to be- malization of hate and prejudice, Wu, like Niemoller, Billy Masters, Sarah Toce, Dana Rudolph, lieve in exactly—is she going to be okay? I’m ter- is letting us know who are today’s present-day tar- Melissa Wasserman, Joe Franco, Nick Patricca, of their physical body. Also, there is the belief that Liz Baudler, Rex Wockner, Angelique Smith in the afterlife one’s moral choices and actions in rified right now, and as one of the very few looking gets: SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS Kat Fitzgerald, Hal life can result in their soul residing—based on di- past religious dogma, I need your help, or at least “When they come for immigrants, they come for Baim, Tim Carroll, Ed Negron some insight into what I should be doing, praying LGBTQ people. When they come for women, they CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Jean Albright vine judgment—in a place of reward or punishment, DISTRIBUTION Ashina, Allan, Dan, John, Sue known as Heaven or hell, respectively. Many—reli- for, anything.” come for LGBTQ people. When they come for Mus- and Victor gious and non-religious—folks feel if there is indeed Many religions create theologies with elaborative lims, they come for LGBTQ people. And the inverse is WEB HOSTING LoveYourWebsite.com (lead a hell, then Trump will unquestionably be going and fictive narratives of reward and punishment true: when they come for LGBTQ people, they come programmer: Martie Marro) there directly. However, thoughts about the afterlife systems as a form of social control, like the Chris- for everyone.” Copyright 2018 Lambda Publications Inc./Windy City Media tian concept of heaven and hell. I don’t think, after While many people might feel fatigued from the Group; All rights reserved. Reprint by permission only. Back can be a search for answers to potentially a frighten- issues (if available) for $5 per issue (postage included). ing new normal, too. death, one is likely to go to heaven or hell in an daily dramas emerging from the White House and Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and With Trump appearing to be both unstoppable and afterlife. Sadly, Trump gets off the hook regarding feel hopeless with thoughts of an afterlife, we can no responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials. going to hell. alter the dystopian pall Trump has cast by living in All rights to letters, art and photographs sent to Windy invincible—in his erosion of fundamental freedoms City Times will be treated as unconditionally assigned and protections to various disenfranchised, vulner- I do, however, believe that crushing setbacks; the present moment fighting back optimistically. for publication purposes and as such, subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the columnists, able, and historically marginalized populations in grinding poverty, racial, gender and sexual orienta- One way is to vote in November. cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are their own tion; and profiling religions, to name a few, unques- Moreover, while there are now a plethora of materi- and do not necessarily reflect the position ofWindy City the country and immigrants, his nativist spirit of pa- Times. Publication of the name, photograph, or likeness of triotism and isolationist rhetoric to “Make America tionably make for a living hell. als evident of the afterlife, like the New York Times a person or organization in articles or advertising in Windy City Times is not to be construed as any indication of the Great Again,” and now his U.S. Supreme Court nomi- The belief in an afterlife, in my opinion, can create bestseller Proof of Heaven, by Harvard-trained neu- sexual orientation of such person or organization. While complacency and indifference to present social-jus- rosurgeon Eben Alexander, MD., I feel the concept we encourage readers to support the advertisers who make nee that can potentially shape future generations— this newspaper possible, Windy City Times cannot accept questions about the afterlife not only speak about tice issues and crimes against humanity like the Ho- (real or imagined) can potentially deprive us of liv- responsibility for advertising claims. locaust, U.S. slavery, lynching and the immigration ing fully present in this life—missing small miracles, (773) 871-7610 FAX (773) 871-7609 social anxiety but, sadly, about hopelessness. As a e-mail: [email protected] or minister in this Trump era, I’ve been receiving lots crisis presently at the United States-Mexico border. random acts of kindness, and the beauty of a sunrise [email protected] For example, in the case of enslaved Africans, the and sunset in a single day. www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com podcast: WindyCityQueercast.com

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Send columns or letters to [email protected]. Windy City Times Deadline every Wednesday. OUT! Chicago’s LGBTQ Visitor’s Guide Online Letters may be edited for brevity or clarity. www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 15 WINDY CITY TIMES DIVERSIONS THEATER • FILM • ENTERTAINMENT • SPORTS

16 28 26 Taking ‘Root’ WCT reviews Blood at the Root. The Purple Pig. Berlin’s Indepen-DANCE. Photo courtesy of Jackalope Theatre Company

THEATER Ain’t Misbehavin’ in Florida, Hairspray in Reno). Celie and Shug’s journey traverses decades and She did a stint at sea singing on a Disney Cruise, continents. and snagged the plum role of Oda Mae Brown in For Celie, sex before Shug is nothing but rape the national tour of Ghost. But, in 2015, Stew- and humiliation, and love is something that’s South Side native art’s mother was dying. She came home. largely non-existent. “Celie’s story is specific but Her mother‘s decline coincided with auditions also universal,” Hicks said. “You might not have for the Broadway revival of The Color Purple. the same experiences as Celie, but you’ll recog- Stewart briefly thought she’d love to audition, nize the things she feels.” comes home for but quickly put the show from her mind. She had For Hicks and Stewart, the musical’s redemptive no intention of leaving her mother. Her mother, arc gives it power and grace. however, had other ideas. “Redemption and forgiveness—that’s the en- ‘The Color Purple’ “She told me to make a video and audition with tire theme to me. We would all love to write some that,” Stewart said. “So we got the script. She people off. We think that will make us feel bet- BY CATEY SULLIVAN hot as simmering molasses and raise-the-rafters and my brother read [lines] with me. My mom ter,” said Hicks. “But you actually free yourself gospel stompers. gave me notes. I sent it off thinking ‘nobody is when you forgive someone. I praise Celie. She’s South Side native Carla R. Stewart looks to Ri- “I never saw myself playing some so sexy like going to watch this thing.‘ “ strong enough not to let reprehensible acts con- hanna when summing up Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Shug,” Stewart said. “But that essence, that pow- Stewart’s agent called shortly thereafter. She trol her. There’s power in that.” Prize-winning 1982 novel “The Color Purple.” er that Shug taps into when she performs in the had an audition. It was scheduled for the same Color Purple runs through Sunday, July 29, “It’s a story about broken people, finding love. juke joints, that showed me the endless possibili- day as her mother’s funeral. “I said I couldn’t at the , 50 E. Congress Celie and Shug find love in a hopeless place,” ties of who I can play and who I can be. make it, and figured that was that,” Stewart said. Pkwy.; visit BroadwayinChicago.com. Stewart said in a paraphrase from ’s me- “Shug shows there is beauty in us. No matter After the funeral, the agent called again. The Carla R. Stewart’s one-woman show Truth ga-hit “We Found Love.” what we’re told, we have power. We are not weak. producers still wanted to see her. ”I wore the Be Told is at 7 p.m. Monday, July 23, at the As Shug Avery in the national tour of the mu- We are not small.We do not have to limit our- dress to auditions that I’d worn to the funeral. Lilydale Progressive Baptist Church, 10706 S. sical version of The Color Purple, Stewart knows selves,” Stewart said. I felt like my mother was watching over me. I Michigan Ave. Tickets are $15; visit https:// that story well. Along with co-star Adrianna Hicks saw The Color Purple in 2008, as a senior still feel that,” Stewart said. She was cast in the tinyurl.com/y8j2yjgz. Hicks (Celie), she stars in the production running at McKinney High School in suburban Dallas. For Broadway show’s ensemble, alongside Hicks. through July 29 at the Auditorium Theatre. four years, she’d been the only Black student in An instant classic when it was published, The the school’s musical-theater program. Color Purple went on to become an Oscar-nomi- Hicks went on to study musical theater at the nated movie and then a Tony-winning musical. University of Oklahoma and then made a name Set primarily in early 20th-century rural Geor- for herself in Europe, landing gigs in a German gia, the plot follows Celie and Shug as they production of Sister Act and an Austrian Legally endure and ultimately triumph over all the bru- Blonde. She made her Broadway debut in 2014 as tality the Deep South is capable of heaping on part of the Aladdin cast. impoverished African-American women. Celie Stewart graduated from ’s Ameri- is 14 when the show begins, pregnant with her can Music and Dramatic Academy and returned stepfather’s child. Shug is a sexually fluid siren to Chicago to start her career. It started slowly. capable of bringing all genders and orientations After performing in Congo Square’s Black Nativ- to their knees with her incandescent, unapolo- ity, Stewart made it through several callbacks for getic sexuality. shows at the Goodman, but never got cast. The women’s relationship—a mix of fathoms- “I had a friend ‘behind the table,’ there,” Stew- deep friendship and sizzling sexual chemistry—is art said. “He told me, ‘Hey, they really like you. part of the plot’s backbone. The musical (book by But they’re concerned you’re too green—that you Marsha Norman; music and lyrics by Brenda Rus- don’t have enough credits.’ “ sell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray) features a ra- So Stewart left Chicago and began to rack up Carla R. Stewart (left) and Adrianna Hicks in The Color Purple. diant mix of jazz, blues, slow jams as sweet and credits across the country (Grease in New Jersey; Photo by Matthew Murphy 16 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES THEATER REVIEW wife, Mary. Under frequent collaborator Robert perspective effect of its walls and windows, a sur- Falls’ direction, though, Keach portrays him with real touch that allows Adam Flemming surfaces Pamplona the kind of inner vigor that defined Hemingway. on which to project images of Hemingway’s life Playwright: Jim McGrath The play takes place in a Spanish hotel room and the people who made it interesting. The pro- At: , 170 N. Dearborn St. five years after Hemingway won his Nobel Prize. jections are truly a second character in the play, Tickets: GoodmanTheatre.org; 312-443-3800 In the 90-minute production, Keach’s Hemingway letting us see the various subjects Hemingway Runs through: Aug. 19 reveals both the triumphs of his life and its fail- is speaking about and providing cityscapes for ures. It focuses on a single moment in his life: background with the help of some lovely lighting BY KAREN TOPHAM his frustration in trying to find the right hook by Jesse Klug and with Michael Ross’s original with which to write that magazine article. It’s a music setting the tone. Like all one-man shows, Stacy Keach tried to bring his Hemingway show moment that allows Keach to explore the author’s this one is far greater than the single character. Pamplona to the Goodman Theatre’s stage last entire life and those who had the most effect on Keach is clearly in better health this time year, but a mild heart attack felled him. him. The term “tour de force” is often thrown around, as he proves during this dynamic and This year, in the one-man show that Jim Mc- around a bit too casually, but here I think it truly fascinating character study. No matter what your Grath wrote, Keach conjures a Hemingway who, applies: Keach simply embodies the writer. The relationship to Ernest Hemingway’s writing might in what will be the last year of his life, is easily audience around me reacted viscerally to both his be, you’ll find Keach’s portrayal to be eye-open- sidetracked, quickly angered and unable to fo- humorous moments and the stark realities of the ing. Although he covers no truly new ground in cus enough to finish (or even much more than author’s life. It’s not necessary to know anything this play—the historical record is tremendously start) his current project, a series for Life Maga- at all about the latter to understand the play, clear—Keach and McGrath make the blunt-spo- zine about bullfighting. He is a tired Hemingway, though familiarity with Hemingway and his times ken, ultra-macho Hemingway into someone who broken by the events of his later life including might add depth to the experience. is a joy to spend an evening with. two plane crashes, serious health issues, and the Kevin Depinet designed the hotel room—its Stacy Keach in Pamplona. apparent loss of his relationship with his fourth realistic accoutrements at odds with the forced Photo by Liz Lauren

THEATER REVIEW older, steadily employed (as an arcade Abraham lished recounting of a night in her company, he unkind or even terrible. And Parks’ script helps Lincoln whom tourists can “shoot”), possessed of says, “She wants me back. She wants me back there as well: she creates so many marvelously Topdog/Underdog great skill with cards he has used to make a liv- so bad she wiped her hand over the past where humorous moments that the audience doesn’t Playwright: Suzan-Lori Parks ing before and could again. Booth, the younger we wasn’t together just so she could say. ... She have time to anticipate any darkness. Director At: Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, sibling, can boast only of a ratty apartment, an been mine since the dawn of time.” Tim Rhoze calls the play “a fierce combination 927 Noyes St., Evanston on-again-off-again relationship with girlfriend The notion of deception runs throughout al- of dark comedy and high-stakes drama,” and he Tickets: $15; Noyes Cultural Grace and a less-than-adept skill at three-card most all of the play. The brothers are never to- certainly does his job well in bringing us that Center; 847-866-5915 monte. tally honest with each other, both keeping se- combination, both in the pacing of the scenes Runs through: July 29 Parks paints these siblings with some beauti- crets and outright lying. The central card game, and in the performances from his actors. I could ful language. Of his feelings about the gun used too, three-card monte, is notorious for its power have done with a lot less of the overwhelming BY KAREN TOPHAM by the tourists are complicated by memories of a to deceive “marks” into believing they have a jazz music playing through many scenes, but it best friend gunned down in the streets, Linc says, chance to win when, as Linc points out, “It may did certainly set a mood, which is undoubtedly In the Pulitzer Prize-winning Topdog/Underdog, “The gun is always cold. Winter or summer the look like you got a chance but the only time you what Roze wanted. In all, Topdog/Underdog is a by Suzan-Lori Parks, two brothers struggle with gun is always cold. And when the gun touches me pick right is when the man lets you.” Both broth- powerful piece of theater, and Fleetwood-Jour- some of the cultural, family, and societal aspects he can feel that I’m warm and he knows I’m alive. ers are guilty of not letting the other win in one dain does the play and its author proud. of being young Black men in the United States. And if I’m alive then he can shoot me dead. And way or another. Named Lincoln and Booth by their father for for a minute, with him hanging back there behind Jelani Pitcher and Keith Illidge are superb as a joke, the boys were abandoned by both par- me, it’s real.” Booth and Lincoln, respectively—each creating c ents when they were young and left to take care For his part, Booth is more concerned about just enough sympathy for his character that we of each other. Lincoln is the titular “topdog”— his relationship with Grace. In a highly embel- can (almost) overlook when they do something CRITICS’PICKS Support Group for Men, Goodman Theatre, through July 29. These are confusing times for THEATER REVIEW six Black male students arrested. undiluted candor and spontaneity. everyone, but Ellen Fairey doesn’t neglect the Second, in 2014, rising-star playwright Domi- Gradually, a summary emerges from the wel- other half of the population and their search for Blood at the Root nique Morisseau met Penn State professor Steve ter of dissenting reports, raising more questions meaning, identity and companionship on a noisy Playwright: Dominique Morisseau Broadnax, who asked her to write a play for than answers: Were the nooses a racist hate night in Wrigleyville. MSB At: Jackalope Theatre Company and his graduate acting class. This proposal might crime, or simply an adolescent joke? Was the The View Upstairs, Circle Theatre at Pride Arts The Yard Ensemble at the Armory, have produced a paint-by-numbers docudrama fight precipitated by racism or homophobia? Broadway, through July 22. A time-traveler from 5917 N. Broadway listing its issues in tidy power-point; instead, Were all of the participants to blame for its 2018 finds himself among ghostly companions at Tickets: $10-$25; JackalopeTheatre.org it supplied Morisseau with material for a “cho- instigation? Does the prospective punishment a gay bar in 1973, but while the passing decades Runs through: July 28 reopoem” (a term earlier that Ntozake Shange exceed the crime? have brought about progress, “it gets better” is coined) that blended dialogue, spoken-word By the play’s conclusion, we still don’t know. still far away. MSB BY MARY SHEN BARNIDGE poetry, rap music, jazz dance and visual imagery (A Wikipedia search finds the real-life accounts Guards at the Taj, Steppenwolf Theatre, to create an intimate collage focused squarely just as unresolved.) What you will find in this re- through July 29. Rajiv Joseph’s very modern play There are two things you should know before on the witnesses to the incident under scrutiny. vival of Jackalope’s collaboration with the Yard with an historic setting explores friendship, loy- the start of the play: First, one day in 2006, This means we get no inflammatory TV news- Ensemble are performance dynamics generating alty, beauty and power through comedy and ter- on a high school campus in Jena, Louisiana, casts, no patronizing op-eds, “objective” analy- electricity so palpable you can almost see the ror. JA an African-American female student running ses or weepy epilogues to overextend the brief sparks as the protesters’ chants break over the Haymarket, Underscore Theatre at the Den for class president sat in the shade of an oak stage time (80 minutes). Adult authorities ap- fourth wall to envelope the audience—render- Theatre, through July 22. A star is born in Bridg- tree on campus—a venerated site habitually pear in only one scene, and the sole journal- ing the smack of clapping hands in the Armory’s et Adams-King’s clarion-voiced portrayal of Lucy that “snobs and cliques” occupied. The next ists are those on the school newspaper. The brick-and-concrete cell a volley resounding with Parsons, who is front and center in this produc- day, three hangman’s nooses dangled from its teenagers of “Cedar High” whose futures de- the urgency of a thousand firecrackers exploding tion about the Haymarket Affair and violent birth branches and, later, a cafeteria brawl resulted in pend upon their response to the crisis speak for in righteous anger. of the labor movement. CES a white male student being severely beaten and themselves, articulating their convictions with —By Abarbanel, Barnidge and Sullivan DFL2018_FullPage WCT_4-875 x 10_v1.pdf 1 6/22/2018 7:40:31 AM WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 17

Kumar Rohit (left) and Conor McGarry in Fucking Men. Photo by Paul Goyette

THEATER REVIEW ler and Katelyn Stoss—with results varying from interesting to unintentionally funny. Fucking Men However, the cast is uniformly terrific, and Written by: Joe DiPietro some standouts include a charismatic perfor- Directed by: David Zak mance by Roy Samra as a porn star, Conor Mc- At: The Broadway Pride Arts Center, Garry as a cocky college student, Lars Ebsworth 4139 N. Broadway adding comic relief as a frantic playwright and Tickets: PrideFilmAndPlays.com: $25-30 Whitman Johnson as a hustler whose desperation Runs through: Aug. 26 is palpable. This play is about nine years old but seems BY ERIC KARAS pretty dated. References to porn videos, renting movies, Blackberries and a star being hated for Pride Films and Plays is presenting Joe DiPietro’s coming out seem from another time. However, he themes of the relationships are universal and Fucking Men—a production that is not as sala- C cious as it sounds. timeless. The topics of navigating open relation- This play centers around the interactions of ships, sexuality, coming out etc are still worthM exploring. This is the type of show where the cof- men in several connected vignettes exploring gay Y male sexuality, intimacy and connection. Instead fee discussion afterward with friends will be as of sex scenes, we have dance numbers by chore- interesting as the show itself. CM ographers Jake Ganzer, Daniel Hurst, James Muel- MY

CY pieces to give more visibility and voice to citi- Immigration event zens, residents, migrants and refugees who areCMY

affected by these policies. K July 18 at Victory “Town Hall: Reunite!” participants will in- will present “Town clude After School Matters: HiDef Dance En- Hall: Reunite!,” an event where Chicago artists semble, Growing Concerns Poetry Collective, will respond to the current immigration policies Luis Alfaro, Melissa Castro Almandina, Kaina of the United States. Castillo, Bilal Dardai, Keren Diaz de Leon, Isaac The event will be held at Victory Gardens Gomez, Arti Ishak, Ginger Lane, Rohina Malik, Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., on Wed., July Victor Musoni, Lily Padilla, Victoria Peralta, Ir- 18, at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to eon Roach, Karen Rodriguez and more. the public. See VictoryGardens.org /also-playing/re- Artists and community partners will perform unite/. Saturday, August 18, 2018 at 7:30pm original poetry, music, dance and performance Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University

eSPOTLIGHT FEATURED COMPANIES HONOREES Giordano Dance Chicago Lou Conte In Bus Stop, director Steve Scott takes on Wil- Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Nan Giordano liam Inge’s classic about a bus stranded by a snow storm and the group of desperate, dis- The PHOTO Todd Rosenberg/Alice Klock Rosenberg/Alice Todd PHOTO parate passengers holed up in a diner waiting Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre Tickets start at $15 for the weather to clear. The group includes Chicago Dance Crash a cross-section of Americana: cowboys, caba- To purchase tickets, visit ret singers, law enforcement, lovers, liars and Hanna Brictson and Dancers ChicagoDancersUnited.org thieves—many of them profoundly changed by Nomi Dance Company or call 312.341.2300 their time stuck somewhere outside of Kan- production at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Randy Duncan sas City, Missouri. As ensemble shows go, it’s Southport Ave. ($30. Eclipsetheatre.com) packed with star turns and rich characters. It Caption: Photo by Scott Dray runs through Aug. 19 in an Eclipse Theatre /DanceForLifeChicago @danceforlifechi /DanceForLifeChicago 18 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES THEATER ‘Carnaval of New Latinx Work’ July 19-21 Medieval morality makeover: The Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC) is presenting the 2018 LTC Carnaval of New Latinx Work (Carnaval 2018: ConeXion!)—featuring readings of six new Latinx plays paired with Latinx directors, actors, designers and dramaturgs—at The The- ‘Everybody’ at Pride Arts Center atre School at DePaul University, 2350 N. Racine Ave., on July 19-21. BY JAMES R. WILKE Carnaval 2018: ConeXion! is an event celebrating the abundance of Latinx tal-

ent in U.S. theater. Additionally, Carnaval participants are able to experience A 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama, Branden Jacobs- Chicago’s Latinx theater community through events created by local Latinx com- Jenkins’ Everybody is a modern retelling of the 15th-cen- panies Urban Theater Company, Aguijón Theater, Teatro Vista and the Chicago tury morality play Everyman, an allegory where the titular Latino Theater Alliance. character recounts his life before “God” and “Death.” Readings are free and open to the public; visit LatinxTheatreCommons.com. In Jacobs-Jenkins’ playful version, Everyman illuminates the inevitable human path toward death. Chicago audi- Emanuel announces plan ences can see the Brown Paper Box Co. production of the to reopen Uptown Theatre one-act at Uptown’s Buena Theatre, at Pride Arts Center. Recently, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined Ald. James Cappleman, Jam Lottery days Productions and Farpoint Development to announce Chicago’s Uptown Theatre From the start, Everybody veers from conventional the- will be restored and reopened. ater. The 93-year-old landmark building—vacant for more than 35 years—will be “Five of the nine actors have their roles selected by used for a variety of live performances and special events. The $75-million proj- a lottery that happens onstage at the beginning of the ect fulfills a commitment Emanuel made in his first term. show,” said director Erin Shea Brady. “Four of the nine are The City of Chicago has worked to protect and preserve the building for several the same every night. And then the five, they call them decades. It started in 1991, when the venue was designated a City of Chicago the ‘Somebodies,’ are selected from the audience at the landmark to preserve its exterior and interior from alteration or demolition. Jam beginning of the show, brought up on stage by `Death,’ purchased the building in 2008. and then randomly (each) given one of five tracks, one of which is ‘Everybody,’ who is the lead. They don’t know who each other is to play… We immediately go into blackout. Ysaguirre named new And then the play starts.” There are 120 possible variations of the play that an ED audience can see, in what appears to be an attempt by the Angel Ysaguirre has been appointed executive director of the University of playwright to simulate the randomness of life and death. Chicago’s Court Theatre, effective Sept. 4. “There aren’t other plays that exist quite like this one,” Ysaguirre will join Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Charlie Newell as co-leadera Brady continued. “So, it’s been a unique challenge. We of the company. figure a lot of it out as we go.” For the last five years, Ysaguirre has served as executive director of Illinois Humanities, a not-for-profit organization aimed at strengthening the social, po- Non-improv improv litical and economic facets of Illinois through constructive conversation and The play is scripted and not improv, although an improve Everybody director Erin Shea Brady. community engagement. background can come in handy, Brady said. PR photo courtesy of Brown Paper Box Co. “It’s all scripted,” she added. “You know, it’s a big ask (of the actors). Anyone who has a pre-show ritual of going through the play before the show starts every night, any- ing people play elements in their life. Nobody plays people thing like that really doesn’t vibe. Because you’re physi- in this play. Everyone plays ideas… So, it’s been fun to cally on stage in front of the audience every night when see the range of possibility within these big conversa- you learn who you’ll be playing that night.” tions. You know, friendship looks really different for a lot “I’ve obviously set a framework for each of these scenes. of people. How many different ways can friendship look? CULTURECULTURE CLUBCLUB And we know the motion of the story that we’re going in. How many different ways can family look?” But I can’t direct 120 versions of the play. So, there’s very much an element of surprise and spontaneity,” Brady said. Conscious comedy “I think what I was looking for in terms of casting was “There’s a neutrality to it in terms of religion,” Brady who has both understudy experience and improv experi- said. “It definitely runs on the more existential, philo- PAC Pride Fest ence,” she said. sophical, spiritual side. It really is just a play about joy, PAC PRIDE FEST and vulnerability, and accountability, and how we move Pink Orchids ‘Everybody’ on the spectrum through our lives, and the things that matter most to us,” By Patrick Cash. Directed by Brennan T. Jones Brady said. June 6 - July 7 Brady’s diverse cast ranges in age from 12 through 60s, and spans a spectrum of genders and orientations. “The Although this may sound like heavy subject matter, The Green Bay Tree only thing (the script) specifies is that one of the roles is Brady said with a laugh, “It does fall on the comedic side By Mordaunt Shairp. Directed by Amy Sarno a lot of the time,” she said. June 11 - July 8 played by a child actor. Everything else is open. Between the five Somebodies, we’ve extended that to age, to gen- “I mean, it’s a play about death,” she concluded. Fucking Men der, to sexuality, to race. So, we have five very different “(That’s) not an easy thing to talk about.” By Joe DiPietro. Directed by David Zak Everybody runs from through Aug. 12 at The Buena July 1 - August 25 people coming into this room with very different life ex- periences,” she said. at Pride Arts Center, 4147 N. Broadway. For more info, Hurricane Damage visit BrownPaperBox.org. By Kevin Brofsky. Directed by Paul J Cook “The main character is Everybody. And then the remain- August 1 - August 26 Holding The Man By Tommy Murphy. Directed by Michael Graham August 5 - August 26 4139 N. Broadway St. Chicago, IL 60625 | 866.8111.4111 WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 19 LGBT CRUISES & TOUR EVENTS AL

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Steve Grand. PR photo by William Dick

MUSIC A more worldly Steve Grand: It’s ‘not the end of me’

BY ANDREW DAVIS WCT: I think some people think that celebri- songs, would that explain the three-year gap WCT: You alluded to this earlier, but what ties have lives that are always glamorous, or between your last album and this one. How- do you want listeners to take away from this Steve Grand has been through a lot. that you’re never lonely. On this album, there ever, I do know you were also involved with album? That much is evident on not the end of me, are moments of happiness—but I sensed that [the web series] Falling for Angels. SG: That I go through the same things every- Grand’s newest album. There are certainly upt- you’re someone who’s older and wiser, but SG: Yeah—that’s part of it, but I don’t want to one else does—and that we all have to find our empo numbers that incorporate everything from who’s had a few bumps along the way. let myself off the hook. I should’ve been putting own unique paths forward. You have a sense of country to pop to light reggae, but the lyrics re- SG: That’s a great way to put it. more music out more frequently. As an artist, you resilience in this world, especially if you’re going veal someone who has certainly had his ups and To say I’m a celebrity is a bit of a stretch, keep wanting to edit yourself, ad infinitum. I’d to put yourself out there. Resilience is key. downs (professionally and personally) since he though; I’m lucky to have a solid, supportive fan look back at songs I wrote a year and a half ago, Also, when a lot of us are younger, we want broke out as an openly gay country star in 2013. base—mostly within the gay community. After and realize “I’m in a different place now.” But to fix everything around us. Over the last couple Grand has even said of the 12-track album, “This my first song and video went viral, it was a zero- the problem is you can always update songs, so years, I’ve learned that perhaps I need to look album is autobiographical—very personal, som- to-60 thing—and I wasn’t ready for it, although it’s like a dog chasing its tail. So I might do an at myself and fix myself before trying to fix the ber and reflective.” I don’t think anyone is ready for that. Despite album of five or six songs, and release items more problems in the world. Looking inward instead of Windy City Times: Let’s talk about the title what people may see on Instagram, lives are frequently. It’s good to push yourself, although pointing fingers outward is a great exercise. of the album. Did you feel like it might have more complicated than they think. That’s impor- you don’t want to go overboard. WCT: I have to ask this because I’m an edi- been the end of you, at one point, profession- tant to remember: We’re not just flat images— WCT: I can’t believe it’s been five years since tor: Why is everything in lower-case? ally speaking? we’re people with all kinds of complications and that national exposure. It seems like yester- SG: [Laughs] I wanted to give the feeling that Steve Grand: Well, I think a lot of us go through struggles. To be human is to suffer. day. these are pages from a diary. The font is actually that time of our lives when we’re down—or even WCT: There are lyrics in “Pink Champagne” SG: I know! I was a deer in the headlights then. my handwriting, and I did all the artwork for the that we don’t want to go on. I’ve had some pretty that involve a toast to someone who was [Laughs] album myself. These are pages from my diary be- dark moments over the last couple years, and a “cheering on [your] decay.” I didn’t expect the WCT: So what would the Steve Grand of 2018 cause it’s really personal and unfiltered. It was a lot of these songs were written when I was pretty album to go there. tell the Steve Grand of 2013 about life and cathartic experience writing these songs. low. SG: [Laughs] Yeah. I wrote that song during a music? Also, there’s a sense of the unfinished—that But this title is about resilience. One of the pretty dark and bitter time. SG: Hmmm… It’s so difficult because there’s a it’s not the end of me. [Laughs] Upper-case things I’ve learned over the past couple of years One thing about me is that I’m pretty open and part of me that’s very stubborn and doesn’t listen seemed too proper; I wanted to give a sense of is that you can’t control a lot of situations in honest with myself. It takes me time to come to others. I don’t even know if I’d listen to my forward motion. life. You can’t control what you’ve done in the around. I am very willing to self-correct. I’m go- older self. I was just going to do what I was go- Follow Grand at SteveGrand.com (where not past—but you can control your attitude about ing to keep changing and my perspective is go- ing to do. But maybe I could shake him and say, the end of me is available), on Facebook, on it. Part of that is saying, “Despite getting down, ing to keep changing. It’s a common thing to go “All the things that are going to feel like the end Instagram @stevegrandmusic and on Twitter I’m going to try to be better today than I was through in your 20s, and you get away from your of the world are not going to be. You will come @SteveGrandMusic. yesterday, and I’m going to try to start every day formative years. back. You should hold your feet to the fire, but with a sense of humility and gratitude.” WCT: So, given the personal nature of the you should also learn from your mistakes.” WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 21 that is only positivity and only shedding light on Mj Rodriguez (left) and Ryan Jamaal Swain. a world that a lot of people don’t understand. It Photo by JoJo Whilden/FX is educational as well as entertaining. There is no negative context behind it. You can only love the people that are behind it, because you know it’s genuine and coming from a good space. WCT: Were you nervous auditioning for Pose? MR: Oh, yeah. [Laughs] I was nervous as all hell! I went in for a tape audition. I had been hearing about it from a lot of my friends and was also auditioning for another show. I was talking to my mom just three days before and thought I was going to give up and find a nine to five job. Literally, four days later, I get a call from . I didn’t expect that to happen. I was sit- ting down, listening at my computer to Rihanna’s “Wild Thoughts.” He called and said the part was mine and I had nothing to worry about. I just cried. I didn’t let him hear my ugly cry. WCT: How has it changed your life so far? MR: It has changed my life drastically, but in the best way possible. I finally feel that the re- sponsibility that has been placed on me is finally NUNN ON ONE: TELEVISION deserving. I have always wanted to be a light for all demographics, especially the LGBT community, but in general for the masses and to change the Mj Rodriguez dynamic in the world when it comes to individu- als like me as well as individuals in my commu- nity. I feel like I am able to finally take hold of strikes a ‘Pose’ my responsibility and constantly shed positivity and light on us, how we are human and how we bleed like anyone else. WCT: How is working with ? MR: He is everything. He has known me since I was 19 and . I feel like there’s a family mem- ber on the set. He’s like my uncle. When we have BY JERRY NUNN asking me how to get involved in acting or where dya dropped her food to be in the picture. It is re- scenes together it is a natural chemistry. they can find refuge. It always feels good and I ally good so see that people are receiving it well. WCT: The music is an important part of Pose. Actress Mj Rodriguez plays the character Blanca have lots of feedback for them. It is good to hear WCT: I thought maybe mainstream America Is there a certain song you like? on FX’s Pose, the show set in the ‘80s about ball- and have that label of mother. I am still very would have issues with Pose, but haven’t heard MR: Oh, child—all of that music I was raised room culture in New York City. young, but I am naturally nurturing. much negativity yet. on. I like “Heartbeat”—the first song that sticks Co-creators Ryan Murphy, and Ste- WCT: Do people recognize you on the street? MR: You want to know why that is? When there out on the first episode. ven Canals have made television history with the MR: Yes. Me and were shooting is so much love put out into the world, you really Read the entire interview with Mj Rodriguez largest cast of transgender actors in series regu- one of our scenes and a woman and her husband can’t show any hate. I always believed that love at WindyCityMediaGroup.com. lar roles. The cast includes Rodriguez, Dominique came up to me. They asked for a picture and In- trumps hate. When you put something out there Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar and . Rodriguez began with a breakout role in an GCLS honors 70th Annual Emmy off-Broadway production of Rent, playing HIV- positive street Angel Dumott Schunard. lesbian writers nods announced She later portrayed Ebony in the movie Saturday On July 7, the Golden Crown Literary Soci- The 2018 Emmy nominations have been an- Church, along with Moore. ety (GCLS)—the nation’s only lesbian literary nounced. Prior to Pose, Rodriguez was on TV with Nurse organization whose mission is education and Shows receiving nods included The Crown, Jackie, The Carrie Diaries and Luke Cage. the promotion and recognition of lesbian litera- Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale, Stranger Windy City Times: Hi, Mj. I’m calling you ture—announced the winners of the 14th An- Things, This Is Us and Westworld. Atlanta, Barry, from Chicago. Have you been here before? nual Literary Awards on the final evening of its Black-ish, GLOW and The Marvelous Ms. Maisel. Mj Rodriguez: No, but my mom travels there literary conference, held in Las Vegas. The LGBT event The Assassination of Gianni and has not invited me. I will have to come there Author R.J. Samuel received the Ann Bannon Versace: American Crime Story is one of the and tell her I went, anyway! Popular Choice Award for An Outsider Inside. nominees for Outstanding Limited Series. The WCT: Where are you originally from? Dorothy Allison received this year’s GCLS Trail- revival Queer Eye is among the shows compet- MR: I was born and raised in Newark, New Jer- blazer Award, while Judy Comella was honored ing for Best Structured Reality Series. (The show sey. I went to Queen of Angles Catholic School. I with the Directors’ Award. Elana Dykewomon received four nods.) was a rambunctious kid. They let me be who I was received the Lee Lynch Classic Award for River- Evan Rachel Wood, Sarah Paulson, RuPaul, in school. I went to Arts High School at 14 years finger Women, which Lynch presented. Ricky Martin, Wanda Sykes, Kate McKinnon, old. I was immersed in the world of dancing, Some of the winners in different genres in- Tituss Burgess, Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Murphy, singing and music. I majored in singing there. cluded Meghan O’Brien (for erotica, fr Her Best Tim Gunn, Lily Tomlin and Jane Lynch were WCT: This sounds similar to the storyline in Friend’s Sister), Nina Packebush (in the young among the LGBT TV figures garnering nods in Pose, but this time you were the mentor. How adult category, for Girls Like Me) and Sarah various categories. does that feel? Hahn Campbell (nonfiction, for Grief Map). Sarah Paulson. The 70th Emmy Awards will air Monday, Sept. See GoldenCrown.org. 17, at 7 p.m. CT on NBC. MR: There are young kids now contacting me PR photo through direct messages and Facebook messenger 22 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES WCT: Where does the album cover come NUNN ON ONE: MUSIC from? EF: That was a photo taken in a small town in Virginia a few days after that Charlottesville riot. Ezra Furman We went there to make a music video for the song “Driving Down to L.A.” Fear was in the air be- cause of the riot. After making the video we took a few photos. writes his I’m glad you asked me about that because there was real fear in that photo while wondering what was happening about my country! ‘queer outlaw saga’ It is a fearful record, but one with a lot of soli- darity between the emotions of it. WCT: Why did you change the name of the band to The Visions if it’s the same lineup? EF: Our mission and the mood has changed. It was the Boy-Friends before, and that is entirely too friendly for what we are doing now. It was Ezra Furman. too childish and there is something more adult PR photo now. People have to come to us. We are not into playing music that makes people comfortable or is as easily classified. We are doing something a little weirder now. I think that is reflected in the name. WCT: What do you want to tell people about your music that hasn’t heard it yet? EF: I face that all time. I tell people I am a musician and they ask me what I play. I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk about mu- BY JERRY NUNN EF: What is fulfilling is that it came out as close WCT: How do you identify? sic that you haven’t heard. I hope they use an to as good as I wanted it to be. The reviews are EF: Labels can be hard for me to define, but internet search engine and see what they find. Singer Ezra Furman continues to push the bound- an after effect and nice to hear. let’s say I am a feminine-presenting man who is WCT: What are you working on for the rest of aries between gender, sexuality and religion on WCT: What was the concept to the album? attracted to all of the genders. the year? his latest album Transangelic Exodus. The song- EF: There are a lot of references to an angel I said I was genderfluid one time a few years EF: I am putting out a book. It is a part of writer was born in Chicago in 1986, and said his and escape from hostile authorities, with road- ago and I became tagged with it. It is not quite a series of books called 33 1/3. They are all by parents supported his music career. tripping across the country in fear and solidarity. accurate because I am male. I just do it differ- different authors and each one is about a dif- Furman talked backstage with Windy City Times It wasn’t planned. I found it in my brain. It be- ently. I am very attached to feminine presenta- ferent pop music album. They had an open call about his latest work and rocking the vote. gan with a song called “Suck the Blood From My tion. for submissions and I had idea about Lou Reed’s Wound.” WCT: Is “Transangelic” a reference to the Transformer. Windy City Times: Where did you grow up? I was developing what I might do with the next transgender community? It is a music criticism with a lot of memoir. It is Ezra Furman: Mainly in Evanston, Illinois. I first record but that song just showed up. It was illog- EF: It is really not a word. There is a sermon about how having a public persona mutates you a lived in Lake View when I was a toddler, then we ical and fascinating. It was like having a dream from the 19th century that I found it in that was little bit and how that interacts with being queer. moved to Evanston. when I wrote that song. I was looking into my about angels. That’s not where I got it from. I The fact is I am obsessed with Lou Reed and I WCT: Did you study music in school? subconscious and its debris. made it up. have to figure out why. EF: No. I took two guitar lessons when I was WCT: You have described the album as a WCT: Aren’t angels non-gender? The other thing is I am trying to get voter reg- 13. I self taught after that and was not inter- “queer outlaw saga.” Is that the experience of EF: That’s a really interesting question. I have istration at my shows. I am still working on it. ested in music theory for years but I am now. I it? never been asked that before. They do have I think every band should have booths at their was a proud amateur and still am in some ways. EF: Yes. That gets at the fact that its a saga. names that have a gender associate like Gabriel concerts in 2018. I want to start a movement! WCT: What artists did you look up to? There is a theme of queerness, but possibly grat- or Michael. They wouldn’t be one gender or the Furman and The Visions play Chicago on Sat- EF: I wanted to be in a punk band or to be a ing against mainstream society. other. They are pure energy. There a lot of differ- urday, July 28, at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Bel- great songwriter like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen Being Jewish and queer are both things that ent takes on what angels are. mont Ave., and Sunday, July 29, at the Wicker or Randy Newman. I was always big into writing oriented me from a young age to be against the The image of a person with wings is one of be- Park Festival, with ticket info at EzraFurman. stories. mainstream. It has placed me in a queer mindset ing terribly beautiful and out of place. There were com. In addition, Furman and The Visions re- WCT: Your album, Transangelic Exodus, has and a queer culture that has something to say to times when I needed a guardian angel because of turn to Dec. 1; visit EzraFurman. been getting great reviews. Is that fulfilling? the mainstream. It pushes against it. feeling threatened. com. Our new Twitter handle! @windycitytimes WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 23

WINDY CITY TIMES’ LGBTQ WEDDING & SPECIAL EVENTS GUIDE

VIEW ONLINE AT: http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/ WeddingGuideFrontpage/current.pdf

THIRD EDITION

A PRODUCT OF Plus, check out OUT CHICAGO’S LGBTQ VISITOR’S GUIDE http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/TravelGuideFrontpage/current.pdf 24 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES paying a princely sum that his debts will exhaust almost immediately, his progress constantly beset Grace under pressure: by interruptions—telephone calls from absent comrades, the complaints of a possible stalker occupying the next room, the temptation pre- Ernest Hemingway sented by a supply of palliative substances (some prescribed, some self-imposed) and the suspicion that his productivity may have dwindled beyond in ‘Pamplona’ resuscitation. These are annoyances faced by every writer BY MARY SHEN BARNIDGE of the 20th century. Beneath the seemingly sim- that ever lived (albeit on smaller scale, perhaps). ple structure, however, was an aesthetic trans- Hemingway’s unease, though, is exacerbated, No matter how impressive their canon, glamorous porting the narrative voice from “moralistic to fa- not just by the accumulated consequences of his their lifestyle or enduring their legacy, there is talistic” in what director Robert Falls declared “a reckless lifestyle, but the phantoms invading his nothing more unexciting to watch than a writer personification of the American ideal thrust into solitude to awaken the anger and guilt shadow- working, unless it’s a writer not working. an exhilarating new era [whose writing] reflected ing the Oak Park lad whose male lineage encom- This incontrovertible fact makes for the irony in both the new realities of the post World War I era passed a history of suicidal depression, along playwright Jim McGrath opting to depict Ernest and his own insatiable lust for experience.” with gender-identity confusion arising from Hemingway during a bout of the descriptive pa- Our play begins in 1959, with its hero bunkered a mother who dressed him as his sister’s twin ralysis known colloquially as Writer’s Block. down at a secluded hotel in the ancient Spanish throughout infancy and a father who instilled in “[I wanted] to tell a story unfamiliar to peo- citadel city of Pamplona—the inspiration for the him a likewise inflexible definition of masculin- ple,” McGrath has said of his choice regarding the corrida sketches that first brought him recogni- ity. literary artist whose laconic narratives of outdoor tion in 1923. Over the course of its 80 minutes, Our host’s retrospections also reference the adventure would be imitated by generations of we see him struggle with the first sentence of circle of expatriate artists converging in Paris would-be scribblers globally over the latter half the story promised to a North American magazine during the 1920s under the patronage of wealthy

WCT COLORS Windy City Times: An LGBTQ History Coloring Book Series

This week’s Windy City Times Coloring Book illustration of icons from LGBTQ history is of artist Jean- Michael Basquiat, by artist Ruby Western. Basquiat, born in Brooklyn, NYC, Dec. 22, 1960, was part of the Stacy Keach as Ernest Hemingway in Pamplona. SAMO (“same old”) graffiti duo on the Photo by Liz Lauren Lower East Side of Manhattan. His early success on the streets morphed into a dilettante Gertrude Stein and the waning celeb- very successful gallery- and museum- rity of F. Scott Fitzgerald (whose decline Heming- based career in the 1980s. He used way fears presages his own), as well as his four his art in politically and social justice marriages and countless injuries—most recently, ways, including attacking power two consecutive plane crashes inflicting severe structures, racism, colonialism and concussions. class struggle. He collaborated with “Writing is a lonely life.” Hemingway observed Andy Warhol, David Bowie and more, on the occasion of being awarded the Nobel Prize and dated Madonna on her way up the for Literature in 1945—an honor he worries will celebrity ladder. He was just 27 when destroy his creative impulse—and therein lies its he died of a heroin overdose in 1988. danger. If the writing experience is the quest for Said one of his friends and painting something unattainable, then the writer risks be- subjects, Jack Walls: “Jean-Michel ing “driven beyond his boundaries to where no was intrigued by homosexuality, I one can help him.” believe. He was sexually attracted My play is about how Hemingway got through to girls. He had many non straight one of the days when he didn’t kill himself,” male friends. I think he had some said McGrath in a recent talk at Chicago’s Ameri- understanding of what it was like can Writers Museum. Hindsight may tell us who to be gay. He certainly had had sex emerges the victor when a lone man is pushed with a few men before he became well to the edge of his capabilities, but Hemingway’s known. Homosexual men played a big courage at the “moment of truth” is an inspira- part throughout his short lifetime.” tion for all time. According to Wikipedia, Jennifer Pamplona continues through Sunday, Aug. Clement (a friend of Basquiat’s 19, at The Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn girlfriend Suzanne Mallouk) described St. Visit GoodmanTheatre.org or call 312-443- his sexuality as “not monochromatic. 3800. It did not rely on visual stimulation, such as a pretty girl. It was a very rich multichromatic sexuality. He was attracted to people for all different reasons … . It was, I think, driven by intelligence. He was attracted to intelligence more than anything and to pain.” (From Clement’s Widow Basquiat: A Love Story, Broadway Books.) See https://www.houseofroulx.com/blogs/news/jean-michel-me and https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/sep/03/jean-michel-basquiat- retrospective-barbican and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Michel_Basquiat . WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 25

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Friday, Sept. 21, 2018 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted Sponsored by: BERLIN

Windy City Times Happy birthday, America! with: Center on Halsted Photos by Jerry Nunn LGBTQ Job Fair! Free and open to all members of the community, LGBTQ and allies. We are seeking businesses, nonprofits and educational programs to bring a range of offerings, from entry-level to more experienced individuals. The fair is 11 a.m.-3 p.m., setup 9 a.m.-10 a.m. We provide 6-foot table, 2 chairs, plus a black linen.

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Partners: Pride Action Tank, Brave Space Alliance, Affinity Community Services, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago House, Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus, and Out & Equal Chicagoland WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 27 BILLY MastersMasters

“Yes, I did offer them acting jobs in exchange for sex, but so did and still does everyone. But I never, ever forced myself on a single woman.”—Harvey Weinstein’s justification for his legal woes. La- dies and gentlemen of the jury—the defense rests. I’m mad that after 68 years, the Gypsy Robe will now be called the Legacy Robe. Why? Be- cause Actors Equity does not want to upset the Romani people. For the last time, Broadway “gyp- sies” are performers who go from show to show Harry Styles (pictured here in an ad for the ... like gypsies. They’re not reading tea leaves, VMAs) offered a helping hand to a fan at his banging a tambourine or dancing. No, that’s me! concert. Someone else aggravated is Dame Diana Rigg. She is in the Broadway revival of My Fair Lady, Harry Styles helped a fan come out to her playing Henry Higgins’ mother. Lauren Ambrose mother. The fan, Grace, made a sign to hold up at has decided that due to the burden of carrying Harry’s concert, which said, “I’m Gonna COME OUT a show, she will take off Sunday matinees. Well, To My Parents because of YOU!!!” Harry spotted Dame Diana is not amused: “I learnt, courtesy of the sign, stopped the show, and spoke directly a newspaper, that our leading lady will not be to Grace. He asked where her parents were. Grace appearing in future Sunday matinees. Now call said her mom (Tina) was back at the hotel, Styles me old-fashioned, which I unashamedly am, but I said congratulations, and then the whole audi- don’t think this development is fair to audiences. ence chanted “Tina, she’s gay!” Grace showed her They have booked their seats in advance, paying mom the sign and the video of Harry and the au- an exorbitant price for them to see what they dience. Mom’s response? “Yes, I do love you and have been led to believe is the original cast. The you can be whoever you want to be.” Now Grace very least we can do as actors is to acknowledge is bringing Tina to see Harry in Los Angeles. So, their presence as a privilege and take care never the ball’s in your court, Harry. to abuse it. It is time management put their au- Not to be outdone, a gay couple got engaged at diences first and insist on the old adage, slightly a Taylor Swift concert—well, anything to avoid adapted by me, ‘The show must go on—with ALL listening to that twit! I’ll let one of the boys principals.’” Hear, hear! explain what happened: “He asked me to marry Another legendary lady got some bad news. Ol- him while Taylor Swift was singing our song in ivia de Havilland’s suit regarding how she was front of us and I said ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY.” portrayed in Feud was rejected by the Califor- Samy (the proposer) knelt in front of Ric (the nia Supreme Court. Even worse, the news came proposee)—I suspect guys get on their knees all nine days after her 102nd birthday. We hear she the time at Taylor Swift concerts. And just like is considering bringing the case to the Supreme that, Samy popped the question. In this case, the Court. She’d better hurry! singer played no part in the proposal—she was The Boys in the Band has added a special show just background noise. as a benefit for The Actors Fund on July 26 at When a gay couple is getting married in spite midnight. Since it’s a late-night performance, of Taylor Swift (you look at it your way, I’ll look perhaps someone getting out of the shower on at it my way), it’s time to end yet another col- stage will take a few extra minutes putting on his umn. Just after last week’s column went out, we undies. Grab your tickets at ActorsFund.org. Tell heard about the death of Tab Hunter. As I wrote ‘em Billy sent you! only weeks ago, he certainly defined an era and I’m already scheduled to be in NYC that night was without a doubt one of the most breathtak- because that’s when Head Over Heels opens on ingly beautiful men to walk the Earth. Of course, Broadway. The long-gestating show featuring the lots of other breathtaking men can be found music of The Go-Go’s will surely be a momentous atBillyMasters.com—the site that’ll take more occasion—not the least of which because it will than your breath away. I didn’t have room for feature the first openly trans person to star in an “Ask Billy” question this week, but you can a Broadway musical! Not only that, but Pepper- always contact me at [email protected] and mint is playing a trans role—the oracle Pythio, I promise to get back to you before Jamie Lee who is described as “neither he nor she.” When Curtis replaces Peppermint in Head Over Heels. it comes to replacement casting, the possibilities So, until next time, remember: One man’s filth is are endless. another man’s bible. 28 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES becomes doubly appreciated. Luckily, the patio seasons. (Offerings from this summer’s iteration seemed more accommodating. include duck fat-roasted radishes and lamb chop Service was excellent throughout the night, with sweetbread, dolmades and grapes. It might ever-courteous and approachable despite the be worth a second visit to try these items.) The the DISH brimming confines. There were certain moments table next to us ordered another seasonal dish, Weekly Dining Guide in when staff began to hover, standing hawk-like grilled broccoli in an anchovy vinaigrette with just a few feet away as we finished whatever roasted garlic and breadcrumbs—and the smell WINDY CITY TIMES plate we were working on. Despite being alone made me want to sit down to begin the somewhat discomforting, over-attentiveness is a meal again. SAVOR good problem to have. The desserts kicked off with a Sicilian iris—a Once inside, the decor emphasized the last item gooey ricotta-and-chocolate-filled brioche that’s The Purple Pig on its tagline: “wine.” One side of the restaurant worth every calorie. Be warned, however: They BY NOAH MCCARTHY is dedicated to wine racks and another to various only make a certain amount for every day, and wine-barrel decorations. In fact, every item on regularly sell out. You owe it to yourself to “Whoa, this place is literally famous. I heard the menu comes with its own recommended arrive early enough to nab one of these Chicago about them back home!” Two tourists admired pairing from sommelier Alan Beasey. The decor, classics. The final dish of the evening was a the sign hanging under The Purple Pig—“Cheese, between the burgundy chairs and white tiling, is peanut butter-and-marshmallow mille-feuille; Swine and Wine”—before snapping a selfie. After warm but not stuffy. although it certainly recalled childhood, it also leaving, I was half-tempted to commemorate the As for the food, if its eight straight years of recalled why we eventually grow out of those occasion myself. Michelin recognition didn’t cue you in, it is sandwiches. Located on the south end of 500 N. Michigan wonderful. Chef Jimmy Bannos Jr., a Chicago Though it has been a Chicago mainstay for Ave., The Purple Pig opened in 2009 and features native, has drawn the menu’s inspiration from some years now, The Purple Pig shows no signs of various dishes from around the Mediterranean. From The Purple Pig. , Greece and Spain. The dishes are diverse slowing down. Dishes are seasonal and exciting, The restaurant itself is fairly cramped. Tables are PR photo but consistent. Highlights from the night include and the constant bustle of people in and out packed to the extent that those sitting along octopus a la plancha on a bed of green beans make for a vibrant atmosphere. If you want a the wall will almost certainly have to brush elbow room would have been appreciated. Since and fingerling potatoes, all served with a perfect charming night out with top-notch food, but uncomfortably close to their neighbor’s food. the odds of having an empty seat next to your salsa verde, and roasted bone marrow served without breaking the bank, there are still few These sorts of close quarters are fairly common own are essentially zilch during one of the alongside unspeakably good bread. places on par with The Purple Pig. in Magnificent Mile restaurants, but increased restaurant’s bustling dinner services, the space The Purple Pig’s menu is ever-changing with the Leather Archives announces Kinky Rummage Sale Have a root around in the Leather Archives & Museum at their Kinky Rummage Sale, Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29. Over 600 items will be made available for sale, including leftover Male Hide Leathers/Shel-Don Chicago stock, magazine, books, clothing, handcuffs, medical equipment, restraints, bondage gear, IML-related items and more. Also up for sale, you can walk away with a pup cage or a St. Andrew’s cross. The sale begins Saturday at 9 am with a LA&M members-only preview. Door open to the public at 11 and the sale goes until 5 pm. Sunday hours are 11 am - 5 pm.

Items start as low as $1 and plenty of good finds can be purchased for under $10. It is asked that you bring your own bags for merchandise. Otherwise, Fist tote bags are available for $2. These sales hours include free admission to the museum for Saturday and Sunday. SIDETRACK Leather Archives & Museum is located at 6418 N. Greenview Ave. Happy birthday, America! Photos courtesy of Leather Archives & Museum Photos by Jerry Nunn WINDY CITY TIMES July 18, 2018 29 understand these situations and create solutions for ers. It’s what we do. Earn while you learn to invest them. My practical approach entails a therapeutic VERY PROFITABLY in Real Estate. For a brief online CLASSIFIEDS alliance that is affirming, empathic, and interactive. overview, call or text your name to 708-292-8778. REAL ESTATE CLEANING SERVICES Michael J. Bland, Psy.D., LCPC. Northside location. (7/25/18-4) 773-404-8161. [email protected], www. INDIVIDUAL GIVING MANAGER Individual Giving Man- CONDO FOR SALE CHESTNUT CLEANING SERVICES: We’re a house clean- BlandTherapy.com (9/26/18-52) ager position open with Umoja Student Development FOR SALE IN 55+ BUILDING located at 2335 W. Belle ing service for homes, small businesses and small TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THIS THING CALLED LIFE Corporation. For full job description, please visit our Plaine, unit 503, Chicago. Spacious 985 sq. foot 1 buildings. We also have fabulous organizational skills CAN BE COMPLICATED And there’s not always “an app website: www.umojacorporation.org/about/careers/ bedroom with den,1.5 bathrooms, balcony, and in-unit (a separate function at a separate cost that utilizes for that.” Whether you are struggling with issues of (7/18/18-1) laundry. Building is pet friendly, with beautiful gar- your assistance) for what hasn’t been cleaned in many identity, sexuality, relationship, or any combination of dens, and private dog park. Asking price of $229,000 months or years due to long-term illness, depression, the above, I can help with that. Together we will pose HOME IMPROVEMENT & PAINTING includes premium indoor parking space. Contact Ter- physical/mental challenges, for the elderly, if you relevant questions and sort through possible answers. WE MAKE HOLES IN DRYWALL GO AWAY. We also do rie at 312-909-9202. (7/18/18-3) have downsized and more. Depressed about going Marvin Evans, LCPC. Loop location. 312-508-9200. Remodeling, Bathrooms, Carpentry, Tile Backsplashes, home to chaos? We can organize your chaos, straight- [email protected] (7/18/18-4) Painting. “A+” with BBB. Licensed-Bonded-Insured, FOR SALE - OUT OF TOWN en out your chaos, help you make sense of your chaos One year Warranty. Free Estimates! Andy OnCall 847- 9 BEDROOM/ 3 BATH HOME FOR SALE. All applianc- and finally clean what is no longer chaos. Can we help HELP WANTED 328-3100 www.andyoncallchicago.com (4/17/19- es stay. Washer and dryer. New 98% efficient boiler. you? Bonded and insured. Chestnut Cleaning Ser- THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO is seeking 60) Kitchen 15’ by 12’. Great for primary residence, vaca- vice: 312-332-5575. www.ChestnutCleaning.com applicants for the position of Director of the Gender tion home, group home, bed and breakfast. Minutes (11/28/18-52) and Sexuality Center. View position details and apply MEN’S HEALTH to three state parks. All brick. Beautiful hardwood COUNSELING & PSYCHOTHERAPY online at https://jobs.uic.edu/. For fullest consider- PENIS ENLARGEMENT. Gain 1 to 3 inches permanent- floors. In the Ottawa, IL area. I can send pictures. ation, please upload a resume and cover letter by Au- ly & safely. Resolve ED. Licensed medical vacuum $379,000. Call 630-234-1516. (8/8/18-4) ARE YOU GOING THROUGH A DIFFICULT TIME? gust 8, 2018 (8/8/18-13) pumps, surgical & supplements. For free brochures/ Feeling overwhelmed, anxious or depressed? Is ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRITS WANTED. Achieve Person- consultation call: Dr. Joel Kaplan 888-978-HUGE your relationship struggling? I can help you better al & Financial FREEDOM. Help us help you help oth- (4843). www.getbiggernow.com (8/29/18-8)

Saturday, Aug 11 Roscoe Stage Market Days acts announced Addison Bud Light North Stage 1:15-2:30 p.m. - Hello Weekend 1:30-3:30 p.m. - Drag show 3:15-4:30 p.m. - Girl Power Night The Northalsted Business Alliance (NBA) deliv- Idol acts Trenyce and Kimberly Locke; legendary 2:30-3:30 p.m. - Todrick Hall 5-5:45 p.m. - DJ ers a diverse and dance-heavy line-up for this songstresses Martha Wash, Kristine W and Ultra 3:30-4:15 p.m. - Trenyce 5:45-6:25 p.m. - Crystal Waters year’s Market Days, set for Aug. 11-12, 11 a.m.- Nate; the girl group Expose; local act 16 Candles; 5-6:30 p.m. - Cat Fight 6:25-7 p.m. - DJ 10 p.m. out country singer Ty Herndon; and the Chicago 7-7:45 p.m. - Kimberly Locke 7-7:45 p.m. - Ty Herndon The fest (said to be the largest two-day event Gay Men’s Chorus. 7:50-8:35 p.m. - Ultra Nate 8:20-9:45 p.m. - Hank & Cupcake in the Midwest) will return to Boystown with en- There is a $10 suggested donation. 8:40-9:25 p.m. - Martha Wash tertainment, shopping, food and more. Formed in 1980, NBA represents more than 100 Aldine Jazz Stage Entertainer Todrick Hall will take the stage as businesses along the Halsted Street corridor. The Hydrate Stage 1:30-3 p.m. - Sam Fazio Quartet part of his Forbidden tour on Aug. 11, while Bet- organization hosts major events throughout the 11:30 a.m. - DJ Laura Bee 3:30 p.m. - Lakeside Pride Strayhorns ty Who will sing her power pop on Aug. 12. MAX, year, including Chicago Pride Fest, Northalsted 1 p.m. - Drag show 5:30-7:30 p.m. - Feathered Beaus with the gold single “Lights Down Low,” will end Market Days, the Halloween Parade and Frost 4 p.m. - DJ Laura Bee the festival. Fest. For information about NBA, visit Northal- 5:30 p.m. - DJ Cajjmere Wray Sunday, Aug. 12 Some of the other acts include former American sted.com. 7:30 p.m. - DJ Oscar Velazquez Addison Bud Light North Stage 1-2 p.m. - DJ 2-2:45 p.m. - Betty Who 3:30-4:30 p.m. - Sushi Roll See Todrick Hall on 4:45-6:15 p.m. - DJ Saturday, August 11. 6:15-7 p.m. - Expose PR photo 7-9 p.m. - DJ 9-9:55 p.m. - MAX

Hydrate Stage 11:30 a.m. - DJ Laura Bee 12:30 p.m. - Drag show 3:30 p.m. - DJ Guy Scheiman 5:30 p.m. - DJ Toy Armada 7:30 p.m. - DJ Tom Stephan

Roscoe Stage 1-1:45 p.m. - Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus 2:15-3:45 p.m. - Boy Band Review 4:15-5 p.m. - Kristine W 5:15-7:15 p.m. - Rod Tuffcurls 7:459:45 p.m. - 16 Candles

Aldine Jazz Stage Betty Who performs 1:30-3 p.m. - BMR4 Sunday, August 12. 3:30-5 p.m. - Joe Policastro Trio Photo by Zak Cassar 5:30-7:30 p.m. - The Flat Cats 30 July 18, 2018 WINDY CITY TIMES Monthly Eldercare Support Conference the birth of the women’s self-defense To announce the October 2018 Legacy Call For anyone involved in elder care. movement. 7:00pm Women & Children Walk Induction of Classical Music’s Most COMMUNITY Facilitated by Japanese American Ser- First Bookstore 5233 N Clark St Chicago Iconic Composer onto Chicago’s one-of- vice Committee, culturally inclusive http://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com a-kind Outdoor LGBT History Museum. for people of color and LGBTQI. Access $50 for select seating,. By the Legacy CALENDAR code784-468-702 2:00pm - 2:45pm By Saturday, July 21 Project. 7:30pm 418 phone (515) 739-1030 Gerber Hart annual boo sale Includes Sheridian Road Highland Park, IL 60035 Stories of Resistance, Healing and Social LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ fiction and non- http://www.eventbrite.com/e/legacy- Wed., July 18 Change Chicago Foundation for Women fiction books, videos, and erotica. Sup- night-at-ravinia-tickets-47608579543 Chicago Soul in Action, Tribute to Gwen- and Chicago Public Library co-sponsor an ports operations of Gerber/Hart. By- dolyn Brooks and Curtis Mayfield Cher- evening of performance as local artists the-bag and by-the-box pricing. Atrium, Sunday, July 22 yl Corley, voice. Lucy Smith, voice. Bring share their stories of resistance, healing down the hall from the library. 10:30am Diesel Tykes Album Release Show for your own chair/blanket. Free 6:00pm - and social change. Free but registration - 2:30pm Gerber Hart Library and Ar- Songs For The Rainbow Family Release 7:30pm Palmer Park 201 E. 111th St., required. 6:00pm Cindy Pritzker Audi- chives 6500 N Clark St Chicago http:// of 12-song album for all diverse, rain- Chicago (772) 747-6577 torium Harold Washington Library 400 S www.gerberhart.org bow families. With Congress of Starlings, Town Hall: Reunite! Immigration event State St, Plymouth Court entrance Chi- Genderqueer Chicago Clothing Exchange Laura Doherty, Erick Deshaun Dorris, Chicago at Victory Gardens Theater cago Tickets: http://www.cfw.org/dare- Bring clean, gently-used clothing for Lnk, Scott Free & Jenny Urban. 7:00pm responds to U.S. immigration policies MILLY OF THE VALLEY to-create/ a clothing swap for trans, nonbinary, Wishbone (Lakeview) 3300 N Lincoln with original poetry, music, dance and Scary Stories to Save Your Life Twelve genderqueer, and questioning folks. All Ave Chicago http://www.dieseltykes. performance pieces. Free. 7:00pm Vic- Saturday, July 21 playlets about something more frighten- may donate; trans, nonbinary, and ques- com tory Gardens Theater 2433 N Lincoln Milly’s Orchid Show Summer ing than werewolves: real life. Through tioning people are welcome to pick up Ave Chicago http://VictoryGardens.org/ July 22. $20 or pay-what-you-can clothes. Free no reservations. Contact Wed., July 25 also-playing/reunite/ Musical Extravaganza will take place at the . 7:30pm Center on Halsted 3656 N Hal- [email protected] to donate. 11:30am The Burning City -Vintage Enter- sted Chicago http://AboutFaceTheatre. - 5:00pm Center on Halsted 3656 N tainment Festival Inspired by the 1893 PR photo of Brigid Thursday, July 19 com Halsted Chicago World’s Columbian Exhibition with en- Murphy, as Milly 2018 LTC Carnaval of New Latinx Work Milly’s Orchid Show Summer Musical tertainment styles seen along the White Featuring (Carnaval 2018: ConeXion!) Friday, July 20 Spectacular Extravaganza One-night- City’s Midway Plaisance in a massive readings of six new Latinx plays paired BTQ Book Group 3rd Fridays 7:00pm only with David Cale and sneak peek of city-wide, week-long event through July with Latinx directors, actors, design- leadership series “The Blackprint: A - 9:00pm Gerber Hart Library and Ar- new musical memoir, We’re Only Alive 29. Eight stage shows include top pro- ers and dramaturgs. Through July 21 Plan for Building the Leadership Ca- chives 6500 N Clark St Chicago http:// for A Short Amount of Time. Doors 6pm. ducers and performers. Fest passes $49- 9:00am - 7:30pm Theater School at De- pacity of Black LGBTQ+ Women Lead- www.gerberhart.org/ $35 7:30pm Park West Chicago 322 $235 Time:TBA Uptown Underground, Paul U, ,2350 N. Racine, Chicago http:// ers,” each Thursday in July 12:00pm - Wendy L. Rouse, author Her Own Hero: W Armitage Ave Chicago http://www. 4707 N. Broadway St., Chicago http:// www.latinxtheatrecommons.com 1:00pm Affinity Community Services, The Origins of the Women’s Self-Defense ticketfly.com/ www.burningcityfestival.com 2850 S. Wabash, #108. http://bit.ly/ Movement Progressive Era at the turn Legacy Night at Ravinia with concert of Affinity Community Services virtual AffinitysTheBlackprint of the twentieth century also witnessed Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s greatest classics Our new Twitter handle! @windycitytimes CONNEXIONS Family Law Donald B. Boyd, Jr. Mulryan

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